WHjMllVlniQME  HER 


AND 


WILLIAM 


lfc-1 


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l^illtam  ®.  ©riffie,  D.D. 


BONNIE  SCOTLAND  AND  WHAT  WE  OWE  HER. 
Illustrated. 

BELGIUM:  THE  LAND  OF  ART.  Its  History,  Legends, 
Industry  and  Modern  Expansion.  Illustrated. 

CHINA’S  STORY,  IN  MYTH,  LEGEND,  ART  AND 
ANNALS.  Illustrated. 

THE  STORY  OF  NEW  NETHERLAND.  Illustrated. 

YOUNG  PEOPLE’S  HISTORY  OF  HOLLAND.  Illus¬ 
trated. 

BRAVE  LITTLE  HOLLAND,  AND  WHAT  SHE  TAUGHT 
US.  Illustrated.  In  Riverside  Library  for  Young  People. 
In  Riverside  School  Library.  Half  leather. 

THE  AMERICAN  IN  HOLLAND.  Sentimental  Ramblings 
in  the  Eleven  Provinces  of  the  Netherlands.  With  a  map 
and  illustrations. 

THE  PILGRIMS  IN  THEIR  THREE  HOMES,  — ENG¬ 
LAND,  HOLLAND,  AND  AMERICA.  Illustrated.  In 
Riverside  Library  for  Young  People. 

JAPAN:  IN  HISTORY,  FOLK-LORE,  AND  ART.  In 
Riverside  Library  for  Young  People. 

MATTHEW  CALBRAITH  PERRY.  A  typical  American 
Naval  Officer.  Illustrated. 

TOWNSEND  HARRIS,  First  American  Envoy  in  Japan. 
With  portrait. 

THE  LILY  AMONG  THORNS.  A  Study  of  the  Biblical 
Drama  entitled  The  Song  of  Songs.  White  cloth,  gilt  top. 

HOUGHTON  MIFFLIN  COMPANY 
Boston  and  New  York 


BONNIE  SCOTLAND 

AND  WHAT  WE  OWE  HER 


» 


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I 


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IONA,  ST.  MARTIN’S  CROSS 


BONNIE  SCOTLAND 

AND  WHAT  WE  OWE  HER 


BY 

WILLIAM  ELLIOT  GRIFFIS 


With  Illustrations 


BOSTON  AND  NEW  YORK 
HOUGHTON  MIFFLIN  COMPANY 
(tbc  fiiterjSibc  Cambri&of 
1916 


COPYRIGHT,  1916,  BY  WILLIAM  ELLIOT  GRIFFIS 


ALL  RIGHTS  RESERVED 


Published  October ^  iqjb 


(3r?e2 

B7I8 


DEDICATED 

TO  THE  THREE  WOMEN  FRIENDS 
QUANDRIL 
LYRA 
FRANCES 

FELLOW  TRAVELLERS  AND  GUESTS  IN  THE 
LAND  OF  COLUMBA,  MARGARET,  BRUCE,  BURNS 
AND  SCOTT 


PREFACE 


In  the  period  from  student  days  until  within  the 
shadow  of  the  great  world-war  of  1914,  I  made 
eight  journeys  to  and  in  Scotland ;  five  of  them, 
more  or  less  when  alone,  and  three  in  company 
with  wife  or  sister,  thus  gaining  the  manifold  bene¬ 
fits  of  another  pair  of  eyes.  On  foot,  and  in  a  va¬ 
riety  of  vehicles,  in  Highlands  and  Lowlands,  over 
moor  and  water,  salt  and  fresh,  I  went  often  and 
stayed  long.  Of  aU  things  remembered  best  and 
most  delightfully  in  this  land,  so  rich  in  the 
“  voices  of  freedom,”  —  the  mountains  and  the 
sea,  —  the  first  is  the  Scottish  home  so  warm 
with  generous  hospitality. 

In  this  book  I  have  attempted  to  tell  of  the 
Scotsman  at  home  and  abroad,  his  part  in  the 
world’s  work,  and  to  picture  “Old  Scotia’s  gTan- 
deur,”  as  illustrated  in  humanity,  as  well  as  in 
history,  nature,  and  art,  while  showing  in  faint 
measure  the  debt  which  we  Americans  owe  to 
Bonnie  Scotland. 

W.  E.  G. 

Ithaca,  New  York. 


CONTENTS 


I.  The  Spell  of  the  Invisible . 1 

II.  The  Outpost  Isles . 7 

III.  Glasgow:  the  Industrial  Metropolis  .  .  17 

IV.  Edinburgh  the  Picturesque . 27 

V.  Melrose  Abbey  and  Sir  Walter  Scott  .  .  38 

VI.  Rambles  along  the  Border . 50 

VII.  The  Lay  of  the  Land:  Dunfermline  .  .  65 

VIII.  Dundee:  the  Gift  of  God . 76 

IX.  The  Glamour  of  Macbeth . 88 

X.  Stirling:  Castle,  Town,  and  Towers  .  97 


XL  Oban  and  Glencoe  —  Chapters  in  History  108 

XII.  Scotland’s  Island  World  —  Iona  and  Staffa  119 


XIII.  The  Caledonian  Canal  —  Scottish  Sports  .  131 

XIV.  Inverness:  the  Capital  of  the  Highlands  .  143 

XV.  “Bonnie  Prince  Charlie” . 156 

XVI.  The  Old  Highlands  and  their  Inhabitants  164 
XVII.  Heather  and  Highland  Costume  ....  177 
XVIII.  The  Northeast  Coast  —  Aberdeen  and  Elgin  191 
XIX.  The  Orkneys  and  the  Shetlands  ....  202 
XX.  Loch  Lomond  and  the  Trossachs  ....  213 


X 


CONTENTS 


XXL  Robert  Burns  and  his  Teachers  ....  223 

XXII.  Kirk,  School,  and  Freedom . 234 

XXIII.  John  Knox:  Scotland’s  Mightiest  Son  .  .  247 

XXIV.  Invt3rgowrie:  In  Scottish  Homes  ....  259 

XXV.  America’s  Debt  to  Scotland . 270 

Chronological  Framework  op  Scotland’s 
History . 279 

Index . 287 


ILLUSTRATIONS 


St.  Martin’s  Cross  at  Iona . Frontispiece 

Edinburgh  City  and  Castle . 28 

Dryburgh  Abbey  .  44 

Abbotsford . C2 

The  Monastery,  Dunfermline  Abbey  ....  70 

The  Valley  of  the  Tay . 84 

A  Typical  Scottish  Street:  High  Street,  Dumfries  04 
Stirung  Castle,  from  the  King’s  Knot  .  .  .  100 

The  Kings’  Graves,  Iona . 128 

The  Cairn  at  Cclloden  . 148 

The  Scotch  Brigade  Memorial . 174 

Interior  of  Cottage,  Northeast  Coast  .  .  .  194 
The  Harbor  of  Kirkwall,  Orkney  Islands  .  .  202 

The  Trossachs  and  Loch  Achray . 216 

The  Tam  o’  Shanter  Inn,  Ayr . 226 

The  Edinburgh  Conference  of  Missions  .  .  .  268 


\ 


BONNIE  SCOTLAND 


CHAPTER  I 

THE  SPELL  OF  THE  INVISIBLE 

As  with  80  many  of  my  countrymen,  the  dream 
floated  before  the  vision  dawned.  The  American 
who  for  the  first  time  opens  his  eyes  in  Europe 
is  like  the  newborn  babe,  whose  sight  is  not  yet 
focused.  He  sees  double.  There  is  continually 
before  him  the  Old  World  of  his  fancy  and  the 
Europe  of  reality.  War  begins,  as  in  heaven,  be¬ 
tween  the  angels  —  of  memory  and  of  hope.  The 
front  and  the  rear  of  his  brain  are  in  conflict. 
While  the  glamour  of  that  initial  glimpse,  that 
never-recurring  moment  of  first  surprise,  is  before 
him,  he  perforce  compares  and  contrasts  the  ideal 
and  the  reality,  even  to  his  bewilderment  and  con¬ 
fusion.  Only  gradually  do  the  two  beholdings 
coalesce.  Yet  even  during  the  dissolving  pictures 
of  imagination  and  optical  demonstration,  that 
which  is  present  and  tangible  wins  a  glory  from 
what  is  past  and  unseen. 

From  childhood  there  was  always  a  Scotland 
which,  like  W ordsworth’s  “  light  that  never  was, 
on  sea  or  land,”  lay  in  my  mind  as  “  the  conse¬ 
cration  and  the  poet’s  dream,”  of  purple  heather. 


2 


BONNIE  SCOTLAND 


crimson-tipped  daisies,  fair  lasses,  and  brave  lads. 
It  rose  out  of  such  rainbow  tints  of  imagination 
and  out  of  such  mists  of  fancy  as  were  wont  to 
gather,  after  reading  the  poets  and  romancers 
who  have  made  Scotland  a  magnet  to  travellers 
the  world  over.  This  fai’-off  region,  of  kilts  and 
claymores,  first  sprang  out  of  the  stories  of  friends 
and  companions.  Our  schoolmates,  whether  born 
on  the  moor  or  sprung  from  Scottish  parents  in 
America,  inherited  the  love  of  their  fond  fore¬ 
bears  and  kinsmen,  who  sincerely  believed  that, 
of  all  lands  on  this  globe,  Bonnie  Scotland  was 
the  fairest. 

One  playfellow,  ^  who  afterwards  gave  up  his 
life  at  BuU  Run  for  the  land  that  had  given  him 
welcome,  was  my  first  tutor  in  Scottish  history. 
If  native  enthusiasm,  naive  sincerity,  and,  what 
seemed  to  one  mind  at  least,  unlimited  knowledge, 
were  the  true  bases  of  reputation,  one  might  call 
this  lad  a  professor  and  scholar.  As  matter  of 
fact,  however,  we  were  schoolboys  together  on  the 
same  bench  and  our  combined  ages  would  not 
amount  to  twenty-five.  He  it  was  who  first  pic¬ 
tured  with  vivid  phrase  and  in  genuine  dialect  the 
exploits  of  Robert  the  Bruce  and  of  William 
Wallace.  He  told  many  a  tale  of  the  heather 
land,  in  storm  and  calm,  not  only  with  wit  and 
jollity,  but  all  the  time  with  a  clear  conviction  of 
the  absolute  truth  of  what  had  been  handed  down 
verbally  for  many  generations. 


THE  SPELL  OF  THE  INVISIBLE 


3 


He  it  was  who,  without  knowing  of  the  hooks 
written  in  English  which  I  afterwards  found  in 
my  father’s  rich  library  of  travel,  stirred  my  curi¬ 
osity  and  roused  my  enthusiasm  to  read  the  “  Scot¬ 
tish  Chiefs  ”  and  Sir  Walter’s  fascinating  fiction, 
and,  by  and  by,  to  wander  over  the  flowery  fields 
of  imagination  created  by  that  “  illegitimate  child 
of  Calvinism,”  Robert  Burns. 

Though  the  boy  who  became  a  Union  soldier 
was  the  first,  he  was  by  no  means  the  last  of 
Scottish  folk  whose  memories  of  the  old  country 
were  fresh,  keen,  and  to  me  very  stimulating.  In 
church  and  Sunday  school,  in  prayer-meeting  and 
Bible  class,  I  met  with  many  a  good  soul  who 
loved  the  heather.  I  heard  often  the  words  of 
petition  and  exhortation  that  had  on  them  the  burr 
and  flange  of  a  pronunciation  that  belonged  to 
the  Lowlands.  As  years  of  experience  and  dis¬ 
crimination  came,  I  could  distinguish,  even  on 
American  soil,  between  the  Highlander’s  brogue 
and  the  more  polished  speech  of  Glasgow  and 
Edinburgh. 

When  the  time  for  college  preparation  came,  I 
had,  for  private  tutor  in  the  classics,  a  theological 
student,  who  in  physical  frame  and  mental  traits, 
as  well  as  in  actual  occupation,  was  Hugh  Miller 
all  over  again.  He  had  been  a  stonecutter,  be¬ 
lieved  in  “  the  testimony  of  the  rocks,”  and  could 
lift,  move,  or  chisel  a  block  of  mortuary  material 
with  muscles  furnished  for  the  occasion.  In  char- 


4 


BONNIE  SCOTLAND 


acter,  he  resembled  in  hard  beauty  the  polished 
rose-red  granite  of  his  native  hills.  Strictly  ac¬ 
curate  himself,  a  master  whose  strength  had  grown 
through  his  own  surmounting  of  difficulties,  he 
was  not  too  ready  to  help  either  a  lazy  boy  or  an 
earnest  student,  while  ever  willing  to  give  aid  in 
really  hard  places.  He  introduced  me  to  Xeno¬ 
phon,  and  his  criticisms  and  comments  on  the 
text  were  like  flashlights,  while  his  sympathy  for 
Edearchus  and  his  comrades  illuminated  for  me 
my  ’own  memories  of  the  camp  life,  the  hard 
marching,  and  the  soldier’s  experiences  during  the 
Gettysburg  campaign.  From  the  immortal  Greek 
text  he  made  vivid  to  me  the  reality  of  human 
relations  and  their  virtual  identity,  whether  in 
B.c.  400  or  A.D.  1863. 

By  this  Scotsman  I  had  a  window  opened  into 
the  Caledonian  mind  in  maturity.  Through  him  I 
realized  something,  not  only  of  its  rugged  strength, 
its  sanity,  and  its  keen  penetration,  but  I  gained 
some  notion  also  of  the  Scottish  philosophy  of 
common  sense,  which  so  long  dominated  colonial 
America  and  especially  Princeton  —  the  mother 
of  statesmen  and  presidents,  over  which  McCosh 
presided  in  my  earlier  days. 

It  was  this  Caledonia  of  mind,  made  by  the  de¬ 
posits  of  human  thought  through  many  ages  and 
experiences,  which  seemed  and  yet  appears  to 
me  as  an  eternal  Scotland,  which,  despite  change 
of  fashions,  of  wars  and  calamities,  shall  never 


THE  SPELL  OF  THE  INVISIBLE 


5 


pass  away.  So  I  must  confess  to  the  spell  of  in¬ 
visible  Scotland,  as  well  as  to  the  fascination  of 
the  storm-swept  peninsula  of  heaths  and  rugged 
hiUs. 

Besides  boyhood’s  companions  of  Scottish  blood 
and  descent,  there  were  odd  characters  in  the 
Pennsylvania  regiment  in  which  I  served  as  flag 
corporal.  My  comrades  under  the  Stars  and 
Stripes  came  from  various  shires  of  Caledonia. 
Then,  too,  besides  the  bonnie  maidens,  like  those 
Burns  and  Eamsay  talked  with,  whose  ancestry 
I  knew,  because  I  was  often  in  their  homes  and 
met  their  parents  and  their  kinsmen,  there  was 
the  glamour  of  the  dramatic  poet’s  creation.  Im¬ 
mediately  in  front  of  my  father’s  home,  in  Phila¬ 
delphia,  was  the  famous  Walnut  Street  Theatre, 
where  that  mighty  figure  in  histrionic  art,  Edwin 
Forrest,  was  often  seen.  The  tragedy  of  “  Mac¬ 
beth,”  which  I  have  seen  rendered  more  times 
by  famous  actors  than  I  have  seen  any  other  of 
Shakespeare’s  creations,  gave  a  background,  which 
built  in  my  imagination  a  picture  of  Scotland 
that  had  in  it  the  depths  of  eternal  time.  The 
land  and  people  had  thus  a  perspective  of  history 
such  as  nothing  else  coMd  suggest,  even  though  I 
knew  enough  of  the  background  of  actual  record 
to  realize  that  Shakespeare’s  chronology  often 
passed  the  limits  of  Usher. 

So  with  boyhood’s  memories  and  the  reading  of 
poets  and  romancers,  with  the  more  or  less  undefined 


6 


BONNIE  SCOTLAND 


horizons  of  picture,  painting,  book,  and  the  drama, 
reinforced  by  what  a  college  student  might  be  sup¬ 
posed  to  have  absorbed,  I  was  ready  for  wondrous 
revelations  when,  with  Quandril,  my  eldest  sister, 
I  embarked  in  the  Scottish  Anchor  Line  steamer 
Europa,  Captain  Macdonald,  master,  on  the  26th 
of  June,  1869.  It  was  after  graduation  and  at  the 
end  of  the  month  of  roses.  W e  were  bound  for  the 
land  of  Macbeth,  Bruce,  Wallace,  Scott,  and 
Burns. 


CHAPTER  II 

THE  OUTPOST  ISLES 


It  was  fitting  that  our  first  sight  of  the  Old 
World  should  be  also  that  of  the  homeland  of  those 
who  settled  the  Scottish  Peninsula.  It  is  common¬ 
place  knowledge  that,  until  well  into  the  Middle 
Ages,  Europe’s  most  western  isle  was  called  “  The 
Land  of  the  Scots.”  Not  until  after  the  Norse¬ 
men  had  frequently  visited  this  “Isle  of  the 
Saints  ”  was  Ireland  called  by  its  modern  name. 
From  the  ocean  outpost,  the  natives  left  their  an¬ 
cestral  seats  and  ci’ossed  to  a  strange  land  —  the 
larger  island  of  Britain,  of  which  the  northern 
half  became  in  time  the  country  now,  and  for 
nearly  a  millennium  past,  known  to  the  world  as 
Scotland. 

One  wonders  what  his  first  sensations  will  be 
when  he  approaches  the  mother  continent.  Some, 
with  keen  olfactories,  in  a  seaward  breeze,  smell  the 
burning  turf,  which  tells  of  homes  and  firesides  and 
human  companionship.  We  looked  for  the  land 
birds.  Blown  out  over  the  waves,  these  feathered 
messengers  find  shelter  in  the  ship’s  rigging  and 
welcome  from  sea-weary  passengers. 

To  us,  they  were  our  first  visitors.  A  terrific 
storm  had  for  a  day  and  night  lashed  the  ocean 


8 


BONNIE  SCOTLAND 


into  fury,  split  one  of  our  booms  and  stove  in 
a  lifeboat,  only  to  be  succeeded  by  a  morning  of 
sunny  splendor.  Then  both  ocean  and  sky  seemed 
like  twin  sapphires.  The  tossing  spray,  which  in  the 
sunbeams  showered  dust  of  rainbows,  gradually 
gave  way  to  calm.  Toward  noon  we  welcomed 
two  little  feathered  messengers.  They  were  made 
happy  by  finding  rest  aloft  in  the  shrouds.  A  third, 
too  exhausted  to  guide  its  course,  fell  upon  deck. 
We  kept  our  eyes  aloft,  waiting  for  news  from 
the  crow’s  nest.  Yet  while  we,  with  the  old  sea 
dogs,  captain  and  crew,  were  looking  alternately 
forward  and  upward,  as  yet  discerning  nothing,  a 
sailor,  born  in  Michigan,  who  was  the  lookout  for 
the  day,  called  out  “  Land  ho !  ” 

For  the  next  few  minutes  we  were  contestants  in 
a  game  of  rivalry,  as  to  which  eyes  should  see  first 
and  best.  Not  many  minutes  sped,  however,  before 
most  of  us  had  discerned  a  long,  low,  cloudlike 
line,  which,  instead  of  shifting  its  form,  like  its 
sister  apparitions  of  the  air,  loomed  on  the  horizon 
in  fixed  defiance  of  change. 

As  if  to  tantalize  us,  fresh  breezes  soon  condensed 
new  vapors  and  the  land  disappeared  from  view. 
Again,  for  hours,  we  were  in  mist  and  fog,  but 
at  high  noon,  the  veil  was  lifted  suddenly.  There 
before  us,  rising  sheer  out  of  the  ocean  and  appar¬ 
ently  but  a  mile  or  two  away,  was  the  great  green 
glory  of  Ireland.  Like  a  mountain  of  emerald 
rising  out  of  a  sapphire  sea,  stood  the  land  whose 


THE  OUTPOST  ISLES 


9 


name  and  color,  in  sentiment  and  in  reality,  is 
Nature’s  favorite,  earth’s  best  counterpart  to  the 
sky. 

After  seeing  the  Giant’s  Causeway,  meeting  the 
paddle-wheel  steamer  from  Londonderry,  and  pass¬ 
ing  Rathlin  Island,  —  refuge  once  of  Robert  the 
Bruce,  —  we  sight  the  real  land  of  our  quest  when 
we  discern  the  larger  isle  of  Arran,  which  rises 
like  a  minaret  out  of  the  sea.  In  law  and  geography, 
as  well  as  the  outpost  of  history,  it  is  recognized 
as  an  integral  part  of  Scotland.  Still  alertly  peer¬ 
ing  eastward,  we  behold  in  the  thickening  dusk 
the  mainland,  whereupon  our  hats  rise  in  salute 
to  Bonnie  Scotland.  The  sun  here  does  not  set  till 
nine  o’clock  in  the  evening  and  sinks  to-night 
amid  clouds  which  break  into  spires  and  turrets. 
These,  in  the  crimson  glow,  look  like  some  sea¬ 
girt  castle  in  flames. 

W e  are  on  the  lookout  for  anything  and  every¬ 
thing  that  may  remind  us  of  Robert  the  Bruce, 
for  in  the  history  of  Arran  the  chief  name  is 
that  of  Scotland’s  heroic  king.  On  its  western 
coast  he  found  shelter  in  what  are  still  called 
the  “  King’s  Caves.”  Of  a  trio  of  these  he  made 
a  regular  apartment  house ;  for  one  bears  the 
name  of  his  kitchen,  another  of  his  cellar,  a 
third  of  his  stable.  On  the  land  higher  up  is  the 
“  King’s  Hill,”  and  from  a  point  called  the  “  King’s 
Cross,”  he  crossed  over  to  Carrick,  when  the  long- 
awaited  signal  told  him  that  the  moment  for  the 


10 


BONNIE  SCOTLAND 


liberation  of  his  country  had  come.  In  Glen  Cloy, 
near  hy,  his  trusty  followers  lay  concealed,  and  the 
picturesque  ruins  still  hear  the  name  of  “  Bruce’s 
Castle.”  Other  masses  of  ruins  on  Loch  Ranza  are 
pointed  out  as  representing  what  was  his  hunting- 
seat.  Are  the  Scots  of  Arran  as  greedy  to  boast 
of  as  many  places  made  famous  hy  Bruce  as  are 
Americans  of  Washington’s  headquarters? 

The  name  of  Bruce  is  not  the  only  one  in  the 
long  and  glorious  annals  of  Scotland  that  clings 
to  Arran.  The  earls  of  this  insular  domain  were 
nearly  all  members  of  the  famous  Hamilton  fam¬ 
ily  which  gave  so  many  eminent  men  and  women 
to  Scotland  and  England.  How  many  more  of 
their  shining  names  are  as  stars  in  the  firmament 
of  our  national  history!  The  champion  of  free 
speech,  who  owned  the  land  which  is  now  In¬ 
dependence  Square  in  Philadelphia,  and  whose 
eloquence  in  New  York  city  acquitted  the  German 
editor  Zenger  in  the  great  trial  which  inaugurated 
and  perpetuated  free  speech  in  America,  was  a 
Hamilton.  As  the  greatest  constructive  political 
genius  known  to  our  country,  the  virtual  father 
of  the  United  States  Government,  the  name  of 
Alexander  Hamilton  is  an  inspiration  to  the  Union¬ 
ists  of  Great  Britain  to-day. 

Back  of  the  pear-shaped  island  of  Pladda  — 
which  we  passed  and  whose  telegraph  station  noti¬ 
fied  Greenock  and  Glasgow  of  our  arrival  in  the 
Clyde  —  are  ancient  standing  stones,  or  cairns, 


THE  OUTPOST  ISLES 


11 


and  many  a  memorial  of  remote  antiquity  which 
witness  to  very  early  habitation  by  man  on  this 
outpost  island. 

In  the  eyes  of  those  to  whom  the  past  furnishes 
a  perspective  more  fascinating  even  than  the  prom¬ 
ise  of  the  future,  the  little  isle  adjacent,  which  is 
itself  a  finely  marked  basaltic  cone,  rising  over  a 
thousand  feet  high  and  well  called  “  Holy  Island,” 
is  even  more  worthy  of  the  visits  of  the  reflecting 
scholar.  It  holds  an  attraction  even  greater,  in 
human  interest,  at  least,  than  the  wonders  of  geol¬ 
ogy,  or  the  numerous  witnesses  to  antiquity  in 
the  form  of  upreared  stones.  Here  St.  Molios, 
a  disciple  of  St.  Columba,  founded  a  church.  In 
the  Saint’s  Cave,  on  the  shore,  may  still  be  seen  the 
rocky  shelf  on  which  he  made  his  bed.  Like  the 
outraying  sparkles  of  light  from  a  gem,  the  lines 
of  influence  from  this  saint’s  memory  have  flashed 
down  the  ages.  To-day  from  sections  of  the  Chris¬ 
tian  Church,  “  high  ”  or  “  low,”  and  from  Chris¬ 
tian  “  bodies  ”  with  sectarian  names,  as  many  as 
the  letters  of  the  alphabet,  come  visiting  pilgrims 
or  happy  tourists  to  pay  their  debt  of  admiration, 
or  to  refresh  for  a  moment  their  traditional  faith. 
In  that  wonderful  sixth  Christian  century  —  as 
remarkable  in  Asian  and  Buddhist,  as  in  Euro¬ 
pean  and  Christian  history — Ireland  (not  then 
known  by  that  name,  but  the  old  “Land  of  the 
Scots”)  was  a  shining  centre  of  gospel  light  and 
truth.  Moreover,  it  was  a  hive  of  missionary  ac- 


12 


BONNIE  SCOTLAND 


tivities,  sending  off  swarms  of  “apostles.”  Hap¬ 
pily,  this  word  means  missionaries  and  nothing 
else,  connoting  spiritual  activities  and  not  ques¬ 
tions  of  authority,  over  which  paid  ecclesiastics 
will  ever  and  in  all  lands  wrangle  lustily. 

In  modern  days,  the  whole  island  is  peaceful. 
So  far  has  the  old  Gaelic  speech  passed  into  “  in¬ 
nocuous  desuetude,”  that  at  the  opening  of  this 
century  only  nine  persons  were  left  who  could  use 
but  this  one  speech,  though  over  a  thousand  natives 
could  speak  both  English  and  Gaelic.  Instead  of 
the  tranquil  calm  of  to-day,  however,  few  islands 
have  been  oftener  stained  with  the  blood  of  war¬ 
riors  and  quarrelling  clansmen.  We  who  imagine 
that  only  the  dark-skinned  nations  were  savages 
must  remember  how  recently  both  Englishmen 
and  Scotsmen  emerged  from  barbarism.  It  was 
but  in  the  yesterday  of  historic  time  that  Chris¬ 
tians  burned  one  another  alive,  in  the  same  spirit 
that  worshippers  of  Moloch  cast  their  children 
into  the  red-hot  stomach  of  their  brazen  idol,  or 
Hindu  mothers  fed  their  babies  to  the  crocodiles. 
How  numerous  were  the  Scottish  assassins  and 
victors  who  carried  the  heads  of  their  enemies  as 
trophies  on  the  top  of  pikes,  like  the  Indians  and 
Pilgrims  of  colonial  days !  Yet  no  literature  ex¬ 
cels  that  of  the  Scots,  in  the  perfect  frankness 
with  which  the  sons  of  the  soil  confess  their  re¬ 
cent  emergence  from  barbarism  into  the  admired 
civilization  of  to-day. 


THE  OUTPOST  ISLES 


13 


Thus  the  initial  spell  of  the  Scottish  landscape 
lay  first  of  all  upon  us  who  had  known  Scotland 
only  through  books  or  by  word  of  mouth.  Yet  to 
such  the  human  appeal  is  immense.  Who  can 
look  upon  this  egg-shaped  island  of  Arran,  with 
its  jagged  peaks  and  its  singularly  grand  scenery, 
without  emotion  ?  The  conformation,  as  seen  only 
in  part  from  the  ship’s  deck,  appears  shaggy,  be¬ 
cause  so  mountainous  and  heathy,  with  many  a 
romantic  glen  and  promontory ;  and  there  are 
picturesque  masses  of  columnar  basalt  forming  a 
link  between  the  Giant’s  Causeway  and  Staffa’s 
wonder.  In  fact,  we  are  told  by  the  scientific  men 
that  the  geology  of  Arran  is  almost  unique,  dis¬ 
playing  as  it  does  a  greater  succession  of  strata 
than  any  other  single  portion  of  land  of  equal 
extent,  in  the  whole  area  of  the  British  Isles. 

In  the  gathering  twilight,  even  though  this  was 
prolonged,  so  that  a  lady  could  see  to  thread  a 
needle  at  9.30  p.m.,  we  catch  glimpses  of  this 
appendix  to  the  land  of  Burns  ;  for  Arran  belongs 
in  the  poet’s  native  shire.  In  later  years  nearer 
views  enabled  us  to  see  again  the  trap  rock,  the 
granite,  and  the  slate,  and  to  catch  a  glimpse  of 
some  of  the  streams,  one  of  which  falls  over  a 
precipice  more  than  three  hundred  feet  high.  In 
truth,  the  first  impression  of  Arran  furnished 
even  less  delight  than  those  in  later  years,  when 
we  were  saturated  with  Scottish  lore ;  then  the 
island  spoke  with  new  tongues  and  even  more  elo- 


14 


BONNIE  SCOTLAND 


quently  than  at  first  sight,  of  nature  and  human 
history. 

We  had  left  Ireland  the  day  before,  steaming 
out  from  the  Giant’s  Causeway.  Our  steamer 
ploughed  her  way,  and  perhaps  may  have  cast 
anchor  during  the  night.  In  any  event,  after 
breakfast,  we  were  well  into  the  Firth  of  Clyde. 
In  sunlight  and  in  joy  we  moved  swiftly  up  the 
river  of  the  same  name.  At  Greenock,  during  a 
pause,  we  saw  granite  docks.  These,  in  contrast 
to  the  wooden  wharves  of  New  York,  mightly  im¬ 
pressed  us  with  the  solidity  and  permanence  of 
things  in  the  Old  World,  though  there  were  enough 
smoky  foundries  to  make  the  air  black.  At  Green¬ 
ock,  Burns’s  “  Highland  Mary  ”  is  buried,  but 
is  elsewhere  glorified  in  a  statue.  Rob  Roy  once 
raided  the  town,  which  has  history  as  weU  as 
romance.  To  us,  on  that  day  of  first  sight,  the 
chief  interest  of  Greenock  lay  in  the  fact  that  our 
honored  Captain  Macdonald,  of  the  Europa,  had 
his  home  here.  Brave  man !  He  was  afterwards 
lost  at  sea  and  at  the  post  of  duty,  when  a  colossal 
wave,  sweeping  the  ship,  carried  away  the  bridge 
and  the  officers  on  it ! 

We  steam  up  the  river  as  rapidly  as  is  safe  in 
a  crowded,  narrow  channel.  Our  ship  is  now  in 
fine  trim.  Her  masts  have  been  scraped,  her  decks 
scrubbed,  and  her  sails  enclosed  in  white  canvas 
covers,  while  from  every  mast  fioats  a  flag —  the 
Stars  and  Stripes  over  aU.  Swift  river  steamers 


THE  OUTPOST  ISLES 


16 


shoot  past  us  and  ten  thousand  hammers  ring  in 
the  chorus  of  labor  on  the  splendid  iron  and  steel 
vessels,  which  are  the  pride  of  Scotland  and  of 
world  renown.  We  pass  Cardross  Castle  in  which 
Robert  the  Bruce  died  —  the  last  two  years  of  his 
life  being  written,  as  in  the  biography  of  Raaman 
—  “a  mighty  man,  but  a  leper.” 

On  a  high  rock,  nearly  three  hundred  feet  high, 
looms  Dumbarton  Castle,  which  has  played  so 
notable  a  part  in  Caledonian  history.  Even  when 
Scotland  joined  the  Union  and  became  one  with 
Great  Britain,  this  was  one  of  the  four  fortresses 
secured  to  the  Land  of  St.  Andrew,  whose  cross 
was  laid  on  that  of  St.  George  to  form  the  British 
flag.  Here  Wallace  was  betrayed  and  kept  a  pris¬ 
oner.  Here  they  have  his  alleged  two-handed 
sword,  now  known  to  be  a  spurious  relic.  Not 
many  miles  away  is  Elderslie,  his  birthplace. 

Touching  one’s  imagination  even  more  pro¬ 
foundly  are  the  ruins  of  the  old  Roman  wall  built 
across  the  lower  end  of  Scotland,  which  we  pass 
as  we  sail  by.  The  bright  ivy  covers  it  luxuriantly, 
and  as  the  summer  breeze  kisses  its  surface,  the 
lines  of  living  green  ripple,  and  dimple,  and  dis¬ 
appear  in  the  distance  along  verdant  miles.  How 
it  recalls  the  far  past,  — 

“  When  Rome,  the  mistress  of  the  world, 

Of  old,  her  eagle  wings  unfurled.” 

Aloft  is  a  monument,  to  which  we  take  off  our 


16 


BONNIE  SCOTLAND 


hats,  in  honor  of  Henry  Bell,  who  introduced 
steam  navigation  into  Europe. 

Many  times  afterwards  did  we  see  the  Clyde 
and  its  great  monuments  of  industry  and  history. 
Yet  one’s  first  impressions  are  almost  always  the 
most  vivid,  and  from  this  initial  experience,  which 
holds  longest  the  negatives  of  memory,  are  printed 
the  brightest  pictures.  It  was  two  o’clock  when 
we  moored  off  the  dock.  Passing  the  slight  ex¬ 
amination  of  the  polite  custom-house  officers,  we 
stepped  once  more  upon  solid  earth,  —  the  land 
of  Burns  and  Scott. 


CHAPTER  III 

GLASGOW:  THE  INDUSTKIAL  METROPOLIS 

“  There  is  nothing  so  certain  as  the  unexpected.” 
Our  first  impression,  after  stepping  upon  the  dry 
land  of  Europe,  was  that  it  was  “limited.”  Not 
that  we  had  been  obsessed  by  the  spirit  that  dwelt 
in  that  reinforced  Western  Yankee,  who,  while 
on  the  island  of  Britain,  was  afraid  to  go  to  sleep 
o’  nights  lest  he  might  fall  off!  Yet  in  Glasgow 
the  word  “  Limited  ”  stared  at  us  from  every  shop 
sign.  We  had  not  yet  in  America  adopted  the 
statute  of  financial  limitations  for  trading  firms, 
but  the  laws  of  the  United  Kingdom  even  then  re¬ 
quired  that  any  one  doing  business  with  a  limited 
capital  or  accountability,  must  state  the  fact  on 
his  shop  sign  or  other  public  annoimcement.  It 
was  this  frequent  expression  of  commercial  condi¬ 
tions,  then  a  real  novelty,  that  attracted  our  ini¬ 
tial  attention. 

It  was  the  day  befpre  Scotland’s  Sabbath,  or, 
in  local  dialect,  “  Sunday  First,”  that  we  had  our 
virgin  view  of  Glasgow,  and  the  excellent  custom 
of  a  Saturday  half-holiday  was  in  vogue.  This  af¬ 
forded  us  all  the  more  ease  in  seeing  the  principal 
thoroughfares,  which,  with  the  crowd  absent  and 
the  shops  closed,  made  comfort,  but  gave  to  the 


18 


BONNIE  SCOTLAND 


lengthened  areas  a  deserted  look.  We  sauntered 
into  St.  George’s  Square,  where,  iu  addition  to 
the  imposing  buildings  surrounding  it,  rises  the 
lofty  column  on  which  stands  the  bronze  effigy  of 
Sir  Walter  Scott.  How  marvellously  did  this  Wiz¬ 
ard  of  the  North  delight  millions,  through  many 
generations,  with  his  poetical  numbers  and  his 
weird  romances!  To-day,  his  name  is  a  magnet 
that  annually  brings  to  Scotland  thousands  of 
tourists  and  millions  of  dollars.  In  the  long  run 
there  are  no  more  valuable  assets  to  a  country 
than  its  great  men  and  its  deathless  literature. 

There  were  other  statues  visible  at  this  time, 
but  the  larger  number  of  those  which  to-day  run 
the  risk  of  being  destroyed  by  bombs  from  the 
empyrean,  in  the  new  fashions  prevalent  in  aerial 
warfare,  were  not  then  in  existence.  So  it  was  to 
the  cathedral  that  we  hied,  partly  for  the  reason 
that  this  was  to  be  the  first  of  the  many  great  sa¬ 
cred  and  historic  edifices  to  be  seen  by  us  in  the 
Old  World,  but  chiefly  because  the  hoary  pile 
was  almost  the  only  one  which  survived  the  tu¬ 
mult  and  destruction  of  the  Reformation.  Largely 
by  the  “  rascal  multitude,”  as  Knox  called  the  mob, 
but  also  iu  the  then  prevalent  conviction  that  these 
structures,  as  then  used,  had  survived  their  origi¬ 
nal  purpose,  and  should  be  reduced  to  ruins,  cathe¬ 
drals,  abbeys,  and  monasteries  were  levelled.  For 
her  size,  no  country  excels  Scotland  in  ruins. 

The  Glasgow  cathedral,  in  slow  evolution  dur- 


GLASGOW 


19 


ing  centuries,  was  never  finished.  For  a  time  its 
inner  area  was  divided  off  to  make  worship  more 
comfortable  and  also  to  bring  the  structure  into 
closer  conformity  with  those  new  fashions  in  reli¬ 
gion,  according  to  which  the  people  were  given  ser¬ 
mons,  instead  of  masses,  with  more  worship  through 
the  intellect,  and  less  through  the  senses  and  emo¬ 
tions.  Yet  as  we  stood  within  its  cold,  damp  walls, 
on  that  July  afternoon,  we  wondered  how  long 
human  beings,  unless  clothed  in  plenty  of  wooUen 
habiliments,  could  sit  or  stand  on  its  stone  floor. 
Despite  its  age,  the  interior  had  an  air  of  new¬ 
ness,  indeed,  almost  of  smartness,  for  its  archi¬ 
tectural  restoration  and  interior  cleansing  had  been 
reeent.  The  modern  stained  glass,  made  largely 
in  Munich,  though  very  rich,  had  not  yet  softened 
down  into  the  mellowness  which  only  centuries 
can  bestow.  One  noted  that  the  subjects  selected 
and  grandly  treated  with  the  glory,  yet  also  within 
the  historic  limitations,  of  the  artist  in  stained 
glass,  were  wholly  taken  from  the  New  Testament. 
These  Biblical  and  eternally  interesting  subjects 
compel  thought  and  provoke  contrast  with  the 
more  garish  themes  of  the  modern  world. 

Going  out  from  the  great  cathedral,  and  its 
wonderful  crypt,  we  visited  the  Necropolis,  Glas¬ 
gow’s  beautiful  city  of  the  dead.  Being  set  upon 
a  hill,  it  cannot  be  hid.  Laid  out  in  the  form  of 
terraces,  and  with  many  imposing  monuments,  it 
challenges  our  attention.  Here  sleep  the  merchant 


20 


BONNIE  SCOTLAND 


princes  of  Glasgow  and  the  mighty  dead  of  Scot¬ 
land.  The  tombs  are  of  the  most  costly  character, 
for  the  most  durable  materials  in  nature  have 
been  summoned  to  record  facts  and  to  defy  obliv¬ 
ion.  Everything  which  love  of  beauty,  chaste  re¬ 
finement,  and  abundant  wealth  could  command 
has  been  wrought  with  toil  and  taste  to  make  this 
lovely  home  of  those  at  rest  a  fit  resting-place  for 
the  brave  men  and  women  who  are  still  unforgot¬ 
ten.  The  long  roll  of  their  names  forms  the  bright¬ 
est  page  in  Scotland’s  history,  and  the  native,  even 
when  far  from  home,  dearly  loves  to  remember 
them.  On  a  lofty  Doric  column,  high  over  all  else, 
is  a  statue  of  John  Knox,  and  on  its  base  is  the 
thrilling  inscription :  — 

“Here  lies  one  who  never  feared  the  face  of 
mortal  man.” 

Among  the  names,  read  at  random  on  the  sculp¬ 
tured  stone,  were  those  of  Sheridan  Knowles,  Dr. 
John  Dick,  Melville  the  reformer,  and  many  others 
familiar  and  honored  in  Scottish  history.  Thus,  as 
out  of  the  past  centuries  does  the  old  cathedral,  so, 
in  the  modern  day,  do  the  shining  monuments  of 
the  departed  dead  look  down  upon  the  bustling 
life  that  goes  on  noisily  below.  One  here  feels 
that  the  spell  of  Scotland  is  not  only  in  nature’s 
glories,  but  in  the  matchless  landscape  of  her 
thought;  nor  is  the  empire  of  Scottish  intellect 
one  whit  less  fascinating  than  that  of  her  lochs, 
her  moors,  her  heather,  or  her  granite  hills.  What 


GLASGOW 


21 


Scotland  has  contributed  to  religion,  in  both  theo¬ 
retical  study  and  in  fruitage  of  practical  results, 
argues  well  for  world-unity.  Our  debt  as  Amer¬ 
icans  to  her  thought  is  immeasurable. 

The  next  day  is  the  Sabbath.  The  chimneys 
are  asleep,  and  after  the  showers  of  the  night  be¬ 
fore,  even  the  air  seems  washed  clean.  “  Lflce  a 
spell,”  the  “  serene  and  golden  sunlight  ”  lies  over 
land  and  sea.  One  can  now  readily  accept  another 
line  of  verbal  genealogy.  Remembering  that  coal 
smoke  is,  after  all,  very  modern,  and  chemical 
fumes  recent,  it  is  easier  to  believe  that  “  Glas¬ 
gow  ”  is  not  derived  from  words  meaning  “  dark 
glen,”  but  is  only  a  modified  form  of  the  old  Celtic 
word  Gleshui,  or  Glas-chu,  which  means  “  dear 
green  spot,”  from  glas,  green  and  chu,  dear. 

Indeed,  thei’e  are  antiquarians  who  tell  us  that 
when  the  first  Christian  missionary,  St.  Kenti- 
gern,  came  to  convert  the  Britons  of  Strathclyde, 
this  antique  term,  expressing  affection  for  the 
place  and  its  beauty,  became  the  name  of  the  set¬ 
tlement.  In  days  when  the  efficiency  of  particular 
saints  was  believed  in  more  than  now,  and  before 
the  great  American  god  Prosperity  was  so  wor¬ 
shipped,  and  before  both  we  Yankees  and  the 
people  whom  Napoleon  bundled  together  as  “  a 
nation  of  shopkeepers  ”  did  so  bow  before  the  golden 
calf,  every  city,  town,  and  even  village  had  its 
patron  saint. 

Such  an  association  of  ideas  —  of  connecting 


22 


BONNIE  SCOTLAND 


public  welfare  with  holy  men  and  prosperity  with 
obedience  to  their  exhortations — was  perhaps 
fuUy  as  reasonable  as  is  the  modern  desire  of  our 
City  Councils  and  Boards  of  Trade  for  railways, 
electric  lights,  and  the  location  within  their  muni¬ 
cipal  bounds  of  factories  and  commercial  estab¬ 
lishments.  Even  villages  then  welcomed  the  monks 
with  free  hand,  much  as  our  towns  boom  their 
reputation  by  offering  building-sites  free  to  those 
who  will  locate.  So  also  the  reason  why  in  Europe 
we  find  so  slight  a  variety  of  names  for  boys  and 
girls,  and  why  in  certain  regions  particular  local 
names  are  so  frequently  repeated,  is  because  of 
the  zeal  and  industry  of  certain  old-time  saints. 
According  to  the  popularity  of  the  holy  man  or 
woman  was  the  census  of  boys’  and  girls’  names 
—  as,  for  example,  in  Holland,  Kilaen  and  Frido- 
lin ;  in  France,  Henri  or  Denis ;  in  Ireland,  Pat¬ 
rick  and  Bridget ;  in  England,  George  and  Mary ; 
and  in  Scotland,  Mungo,  Andrew,  or  some  other 
Christian  name  once  borne  by  a  spiritual  pioneer, 
whose  story  is  one  of  inspiration. 

In  such  a  climate  and  era  of  opinion,  Glasgow 
took  for  its  patron  saint,  Mungo,  and  the  munici¬ 
pal  motto  and  arms  are  whoUy  identified  with  his 
career.  “  Let  Glasgow  fiourish  by  the  preaching 
of  the  Word  ”  was  his  verbal  gift  and  bequest, 
though  in  ordinary  use  and  conversation  the  muni¬ 
cipal  motto  is  shortened  to  “Let  Glasgow  flour¬ 
ish.”  This  is  very  much  as  in  the  Netherlands  the 


GLASGOW 


23 


national  motto,  once  much  longer,  is  now  abbre¬ 
viated  to  two  words  in  Dutch  (or  rather  French) 
which  in  English  mean  “  I  will  maintain.”  Our 
own  native  city  has  the  advantage  of  having 
adopted  that  scriptural  command,  or  desire,  which 
begins  a  famous  chapter  in  Hebrews,  “  Let  Phila¬ 
delphia  continue.” 

Kentigern,  whose  name  meant  “  chief  lord,” 
was  one  of  the  three  pioneer  apostles  or  mission¬ 
aries  of  the  Christian  faith  in  Scotland.  Ninian 
took  as  his  task  the  converting  of  the  tribes  of 
the  south ;  St.  Columba  was  the  apostle  of  the 
west  and  north ;  while  Mungo  restored  or  estab¬ 
lished  the  religion  of  the  British  folk  in  the  region 
between  the  Clyde  and  Cumberland.  Of  high 
birth  and  of  early  British  stock,  he  saw  the  light 
at  Culross  in  the  year  514.  His  mother  Thenau 
was  the  daughter  of  a  saint  of  the  Edinburgh 
region.  So  dearly  was  he  beloved  by  the  monastic 
brethren  that  his  baptismal  name  of  Kentigern 
was  exchanged  in  common  speech  for  Mungo, 
meaning  “lovable,”  or  “dear  friend.”  Leaving 
Culross,  he  made  use  of  the  chief  forces  of  mis¬ 
sionary  propagation  in  that  age,  by  planting  a 
monastery  at  a  place  now  known  as  Glasgow.  He 
became  bishop  of  the  kingdom  of  Cumbria,  as  the 
region,  partly  in  the  later-named  England  and 
partly  in  Scotland,  was  then  called. 

When  this  holy  missionary  lived,  there  were  no 
such  specific  regions,  with  boundaries  fixed  by 


24 


BONNIE  SCOTLAND 


surveyors  and  known  as  England  and  Scotland, 
nor  were  Highlanders  or  Lowlanders  discrimi¬ 
nated  by  any  such  later  and  useful  terms  of  dis¬ 
tinction.  The  region  which  Mungo  first  entered 
was  called  Cumbria  and  was  then  and  long  after¬ 
wards  an  independent  kingdom.  It  has  since  been 
broken  up  into  Cumberland  in  England,  and 
that  part  of  Scotland  which  is  now  divided  into 
the  shires  of  Dumbarton,  Renfrew,  Ayr,  Lanark, 
Peebles,  Selkirk,  Roxborough,  and  Dumfries. 
The  name  of  Cumbria,  notably  differentiated  from 
what  in  recent  centuries  has  been  called  England, 
was  governed  by  its  own  kings,  who  had  their  seat 
at  Dumbarton  or  Glasgow.  The  name  still  lingers 
in  the  Cumbria  Mountains.  In  this  great  knot  of 
peaks  and  hills  lies  the  famous  British  “  lake  dis¬ 
trict,”  which  is  very  much  in  physical  features 
like  Wales,  being  unsurpassed  in  the  British 
archipelago  for  picturesqueness  and  beauty. 

When  the  varied  Teutonic  tribes  —  Saxons, 
Angles,  Frisians,  Jutes,  and  what  not  from  the 
Continent  —  pressed  into  the  Lowlands,  the  na¬ 
tives  inhabiting  the  western  and  more  mountain¬ 
ous  districts,  north  of  the  Forth  and  the  Clyde, 
had  to  be  distinguished  from  the  newcomers. 
Then  it  was  that  these  people  of  the  hill  country 
received  names  not  altogether  complimentary. 
They  were  called  the  “Wild  Scots”  or  the 
“  Irishry  of  Scotland,”  and  only  in  comparatively 
recent  times  “Scotch  Highlanders.”  The  last 


GLASGOW 


25 


prince  of  Cumbria,  named  in  the  records,  was  the 
brother  and  heir  of  King  Alexander  I  of  Scotland. 

Glasgow  is  really  a  very  modern  city.  As  the 
city  on  Manhattan  is  the  evolution  from  a  fortress, 
so  the  cathedral  was  the  nucleus  around  which 
the  ancient  town  of  the  “  dark  glen  ”  grew.  The 
university,  when  founded,  became  also  a  magnet 
to  attract  dwellers.  In  the  twelfth  century.  King 
William  the  Lion  erected  the  settlement  into  a 
burgh,  with  the  privilege  of  an  annual  fair.  Yet 
even  down  to  the  sixteenth  century,  Glasgow  was 
only  the  eleventh  in  importance  among  Scottish 
towns.  It  was  the  American  trade,  after  the  union 
with  England,  which  gave  an  immense  stimulus 
to  its  commerce.  If  “  Amsterdam  is  built  on  her¬ 
ring  bones,”  the  Scottish  city  became  rich  through 
the  tobacco  leaf.  For  a  long  time  the  merchants 
of  Glasgow,  who  traded  with  Virginia,  formed  a 
local  aristocracy,  very  proud  and  very  wealthy. 
For  a  century  or  more,  this  profitable  commerce 
lasted.  Then  our  Civil  War  paralyzed  it,  but 
other  industries  quickly  followed. 

The  permanent  wealth  of  Glasgow  comes,  how¬ 
ever,  from  its  situation  in  the  midst  of  a  district 
rich  in  coal  and  iron.  Furthermore,  the  improve¬ 
ments  made  in  the  steam  engine  by  James  Watt, 
and  the  demonstration,  by  Henry  Bell,  that  navi¬ 
gation  with  this  motive  power  was  possible, 
wrought  the  transformation  of  Glasgow  into  the 
richest  of  Scottish  cities.  Speaking  broadly,  how- 


26 


BONNIE  SCOTLAND 


ever,  as  to  time,  Glasgow’s  wealth  is  the  creation 
of  the  nineteenth  century,  and  its  influence  upon 
the  world  at  large  is  not  much  older.  As  upon  a 
ladder,  whose  rungs  are  sugar  refining,  the  distil¬ 
lation  of  strong  liquors,  the  making  of  soap,  the 
preparation  of  tobacco,  the  introduction  of  the 
cotton  manufacture,  calico  printing,  Turkey-red 
dyeing,  beer-brewing,  and  the  iron  trade,  includ¬ 
ing  machine-making  and  steamboat  building,  the 
prosperity  of  Glasgow  has  mounted  ever  upwards. 

The  tourist  seeking  rest,  refreshment,  and  in¬ 
spiration  is  but  slightly  interested  in  mere  wealth 
or  prosperity  that  is  whoUy  material.  So,  despite 
the  attractive  solidity  of  its  houses,  built  of  free¬ 
stone,  and  of  its  streets  running  from  east  to  west, 
in  straight  lines  and  parallel  with  the  river,  the 
city  of  Glasgow,  with  its  dingy  and  ever  smoky 
aspect,  has  little  to  attract  the  traveller  whose 
minutes  are  precious  and  whose  days  on  the  soil 
are  few.  So  on  this  first  visit,  a  day  and  a  night 
sufficed  us,  and  then  we  left  the  burgh  of  the 
(once)  dear  green  spot  and  took  the  train  to 
“  Edwin’s  burgh,”  or  Edinburgh. 

Many  times  did  we  revisit  Glasgow,  noting 
improvement  on  each  occasion.  We  came  to  con¬ 
sider  this  the  model  city  of  Great  Britain  in  its 
municipal  spirit  and  constant  improvement.  We 
blessed  the  Lord  for  electricity  which  is  steadily 
annihilating  smoke  and  brightening  the  world. 
“The  city  is  the  hope  of  democracy.” 


CHAPTER  IV 

EDINBURGH  THE  PICTURESQUE 

It  was  late  in  the  afternoon  when  we  first  ar¬ 
rived  in  the  most  beautiful  city  in  Scotland,  and 
the  sun’s  rays  lay  nearly  level.  Between  the  old 
town  on  the  hiU  —  inhabited  and  garrisoned,  per¬ 
haps,  from  prehistoric  times  and  sloping  down 
from  the  castle-crowned  rock  —  and  the  new  mod¬ 
ern  fashionable  quarter,  with  sunny  spaces  and 
broad  avenues,  runs  a  deep  ravine.  In  old  times 
this  depression  contained  a  lake  called  the  “  Nor’ 
Loch,”  which,  having  been  drained  long  ago,  is 
used  by  the  railways.  Thus  entering  Edinburgh, 
by  the  cellar,  as  it  were,  we  must  ascend  several 
pairs  of  stairs  from  the  W averly  Station,  to  reach 
the  ordinary  street  level. 

Seeing  far  above  us  the  hotel  to  which  we 
wished  to  go  we  walked  up  skyward  toward  it. 
At  the  top  of  the  stairs,  turning  to  look,  we  were 
at  once  “carried  to  Paradise  on  the  stairways  of 
surprise.”  One  of  those  moments  in  life,  never  to 
be  forgotten,  as  when  one  beholds  for  the  first 
time  Niagara,  or  has  his  initial  view  of  the  ocean, 
or  stands  in  presence  of  a  monarch,  was  ours,  as 
we  gazed  over  toward  the  old  city  and  the  cloud- 
lands  of  history.  We  had  known  that  Edinburgh 


28 


BONNIE  SCOTLAND 


was  handsome,  historic,  and  renowned,  but  had 
not  dreamed  that  it  was  so  imposing,  so  magnifi¬ 
cent,  so  unique  in  all  Europe. 

Beneath  us  lay  the  long,  deep  ravine,  now 
threaded  with  the  glittering  metal  bands  of  the 
railway  and  planted  with  parks  and  gardens  bril¬ 
liant  with  flowers.  High  on  the  opposite  bank, 
and  sweeping  up  toward  the  summit,  lay  the  old 
city.  Its  lofty  irregular  masses  of  stone  buildings 
and  towers,  with  the  castle  crowning  all,  seemed 
like  a  mirage,  so  weii’d  and  unearthly  was  this 
unexpected  appearance  of  “the  city  set  upon  a 
hill.” 

We  gazed  long  at  the  enchanting  sight  and 
then  turned  to  visit  the  chief  avenue  of  the  new 
city.  Princes  Street  —  a  perfect  glory  of  attract¬ 
ive  homes,  with  broad  spaces  rich  in  gardens  and 
statuary,  the  whole  effect  suggesting  taste  and  re¬ 
finement.  This  we  believe,  despite  Buskin’s  fiery 
anathema  of  modern  taste. 

A  splendid  monument  to  Sir  Walter  Scott, 
three  hundred  feet  high  and  costing  $90,000, 
stands  in  the  centre  of  the  space  opposite  our 
hotel.  Though  in  richest  Gothic  style  and  a  gem 
of  art,  it  was  built  by  a  self-taught  architect. 
Not  far  away.  Professor  Wilson,  Allan  Ramsay, 
Robert  Bums,  and  other  sons  of  Scotland  repose 
in  bronze  or  marble  dignity.  Indeed,  the  new  city 
is  particularly  rich  in  monuments  of  every  de¬ 
scription  and  quality.  Edinburgh’s  parks  and 


EDINBURGH 


EDINBURGH  THE  PICTURESQUE 


29 


open  spaces  are  unusually  numerous.  Even  the 
cemeteries  are  full  of  beauty  and  charm,  for  it  is 
a  pleasure  to  read  the  names  of  old  friends,  un¬ 
seen,  indeed,  but  whom  we  learned  to  love  so  long 
ago  through  their  books. 

To-day  the  American  greets  in  bronze  his  coun¬ 
try’s  second  father,  whose  ancestors  once  dwelt 
on  the  coin,  or  colony  on  the  Lind  ;  whence  Father 
Abraham’s  family  name,  Lincoln.  How  we  boys, 
in  the  Union  army  in  1863,  used  to  sing,  “  We 
are  coming.  Father  Abraham,  three  hundred  thou¬ 
sand  strong” !  How  in  1916,  the  men  of  the  four 
nations  of  the  United  Kingdom,  who  have  formed 
Kitchener’s  army,  sang  their  merry  response  to 
duty’s  call,  in  the  same  music  and  spirit,  and  in 
much  the  same  words! 

Edinburgh  is  really  the  heart  of  the  old  shire 
of  Midlothian,  for  it  is  the  central  town  of  the 
metropolitan  county,  with  a  long  and  glorious  his¬ 
tory.  After  James  I,  the  ablest  man  of  the  Stuart 
family,  was  murdered,  ou  Chrismas  night,  a.d. 
1437,  Edinburgh  became  the  recognized  capital 
of  the  kingdom,  for  neither  Perth,  nor  Scone,  nor 
Stirling,  nor  Dunfermline  was  able  to  offer  proper 
security  to  royalty  against  the  designs  of  the  tur¬ 
bulent  nobles.  From  this  date  Edinburgh,  with 
its  castle,  was  selected  as  the  one  sure  place  of 
safety  for  the  royal  household,  the  Parliament,  the 
mint,  and  the  government  ofhces.  Thereupon  in 
“  Edwin’s  Burgh  ”  began  a  growth  of  population 


30 


BONNIE  SCOTLAND 


that  soon  pressed  most  inconveniently  upon  the 
available  space,  which  was  very  restricted,  since 
the  people  must  keep  within  the  walls  for  the 
sake  of  protection.  The  building  of  very  high 
houses  became  a  necessity.  The  town  then  con¬ 
sisted  only  of  the  original  main  way,  called  “  High 
Street,”  reaching  to  the  Canon  Gate,  and  a  paral¬ 
lel  way  on  the  south,  long,  narrow,  and  confined, 
called  the  “  Cow  Gate.”  It  was  in  the  days  when 
the  sole  fuel  made  use  of  was  wood  that  Edin¬ 
burgh  received  its  name  of  “Auld  Reekie,”  or 
“  Old  Smoky.” 

In  other  words,  feudal  and  royal  Edinburgh 
was  a  walled  space,  consisting  of  two  long  streets, 
sloping  from  hilltop  to  flats,  with  houses  of  stone 
that  rose  high  in  the  air.  Somehow,  such  an 
architectural  formation,  which  might  remind  a 
Swiss  of  his  native  Mer  de  Glace  and  its  aiguilles, 
recalls  to  the  imaginative  but  irreverent  American 
the  two  long  parallel  series  of  rocks,  which  he 
may  see  on  the  way  to  California,  called  “The 
Devil’s  Slide.”  These  avenues  of  old  Edinburgh, 
so  long  and  not  very  wide,  had  communication 
each  with  the  other  by  means  of  about  one  hun¬ 
dred  dark,  narrow  cross-alleys  or  “closes,”  be¬ 
tween  the  dense  clusters  of  houses.  Sometimes 
they  were  called  “  wynds,”  and  in  their  shadowy 
recesses  many  a  murder,  assassination,  or  passage- 
at-arms  took  place,  when  swords  and  dirks,  as  in 
old  Japan,  formed  part  of  a  gentleman’s  daily 


EDINBURGH  THE  PICTURESQUE 


31 


costume.  In  proportions,  but  not  in  character  or 
quality  of  the  wayfarers,  these  two  Scottish  streets 
are  wonderfully  like  the  road  to  heaven. 

These  houses  were  not  homes,  each  occupied  by 
but  one  family.  They  were  rather  like  the  modern 
apartment  houses,  consisting  of  a  succession  of 
floors  or  flats,  each  forming  a  separate  suite  of 
living-rooms,  so  that  every  structure  harbored 
many  households.  Of  such  floors  there  were  sel¬ 
dom  fewer  than  six,  and  sometimes  ten  or  twelve, 
the  edifices  towering  to  an  immense  height;  and, 
because  built  upon  an  eminence,  rendered  stiU 
more  imposing.  It  was  toward  the  middle  of  the 
eighteenth  century  before  the  well-to-do  citizens 
left  these  narrow  quarters  for  more  extensive  and 
level  areas  beyond  the  ravine.  There  is  now  no 
suggestion  of  aristocracy  here,  for  these  are  now 
real  tenement  houses.  The  hygienic  situation, 
however,  even  though  the  tenants  are  humble 
folk,  reveals  a  vast  improvement  upon  the  days 
when  elegant  lords  and  ladies  inhabited  these  lofty 
rookeries,  which  remind  one  of  the  Cliff  Dwellings 
of  Arizona  —  or  those  modern  “cliff  dwellings,” 
the  homes  of  the  luxurious  literary  club  men  on 
the  lake-front  of  Chicago. 

In  old  days  it  was  a  common  practice  to  throw 
the  slops  and  garbage  out  of  the  upper  windows 
into  the  street  below.  The  ordinary  word  of  warn¬ 
ing,  supposed  to  be  good  Scotch  and  still  in  use, 
is  “  Gardeloo,”  which  is  only  a  corruption  of  the 


32 


BONNIE  SCOTLAND 


French  “  Gardez  de  I’eau  ”  (Look  out  for  the 
water).  It  is  hut  one  of  a  thousand  linguistic  or 
historic  links  with  Scotland’s  old  friend  and  ally, 
France. 

In  fact,  until  near  the  nineteenth  century,  Edin¬ 
burgh’s  reputation  for  dirt,  though  it  was  shared 
with  many  other  European  cities  in  which  our 
ancestors  dwelt,  was  proverbial,  especially  when 
refuse  of  aU  sorts  was  flung  from  every  story  of 
the  lofty  houses.  From  the  middle  of  the  street  to 
the  houses  on  both  sides  lay  a  vast  collection  of 
garbage  ripening  for  transportation  to  the  farms 
when  spring  opened.  In  this  the  pigs  wallowed 
when  driven  in,  at  the  close  of  the  day,  from  the 
beech  or  oak  woods  by  the  hog-reeve.  The  prom¬ 
inent  features  of  the  prehistoric  kitchen  middens, 
which  modern  professors  so  love  to  dig  into,  were, 
in  this  High  Street,  in  full  bloom  and  the  likeness 
was  close. 

How  different,  in  our  time,  when  municipal  hy¬ 
giene  has  become,  in  some  places  at  least,  a  fine 
art !  There  is  a  reason  why  “  the  plague  ”  no 
longer  visits  the  British  Isles.  Nor,  as  of  old, 
is  “  Providence  ”  so  often  charged  with  visiting 
“  mysterious  ”  punishment  upon  humanity.  Sci¬ 
ence  has  helped  man  to  see  himself  a  fool  and  to 
learn  that  cleanliness  is  next  to  godliness.  The 
modern  Scot,  for  the  most  part,  believes  that  lazi¬ 
ness  and  dirt  are  the  worst  forms  of  original  sin. 
Yet  it  took  a  long  course  in  the  discipline  of  cause 


EDINBURGH  THE  PICTURESQUE 


33 


and  effect  to  make  “  Sandy  ”  fond  of  soap,  water, 
and  fumigation.  In  this,  however,  he  differed,  in  no 
whit,  from  our  other  ancestors  in  the  same  age. 

After  seeing  Switzerland,  and  studying  the  be¬ 
havior  of  glaciers,  with  their  broad  expanse  at  the 
mountain-top,  their  solidity  in  the  wide  valleys, 
and  then,  farther  down,  their  constriction  in  a 
narrow  space  between  immovable  rocks,  which, 
resisting  the  pressure  of  the  ice-mass,  force  it  up¬ 
ward  into  pinnacles  and  tower-like  productions, 
I  thought  ever  afterwards  of  the  old  city  of  Edin¬ 
burgh  as  a  river,  yet  not  of  ice  but  of  stone. 
Flowing  from  the  lofty  summit  whereon  the  castle 
lay,  the  area  of  human  habitation  was  squeezed 
into  the  narrower  ridge,  between  ancient  but  now 
valueless  walls,  which  seemed  to  force  the  human 
dwellings  skyward.  Yet  it  was  not  through  the 
pressure  of  nature,  but  because  of  the  murderous 
instincts  of  man,  with  his  passions  of  selfishness 
and  love  of  destruction,  that  old  Edinburgh  took 
its  shape. 

On  our  first  visit,  to  cross  from  our  hotel  in 
the  new  city  and  over  into  the  ancient  precincts, 
we  walked  above  the  ravine,  over  a  high  arched 
stone  bridge,  and  turning  to  the  right  climbed  up 
High  Street  to  the  castle,  and  rambled  on  the 
Esplanade.  This  is  the  picture  —  it  is  Saturday 
afternoon  and  a  regiment  of  soldiers  in  Highland 
costume  have  been  parading.  Yet,  besides  the 
warriors,  you  can  see  plenty  of  other  men  in  this 


34 


BONNIE  SCOTLAND 


pavonine  costume,  with  their  gay  plaids,  bare  legs, 
and  showy  kilts.  We  hear  a  strange  cry  in  the 
streets  and  then  see,  for  the  first  time,  the  Edin¬ 
burgh  fishwoman  in  her  curious  striped  dress  of 
short  skirts  and  sleeves,  queer-looking  fringed 
neck-cover,  and  striped  apron.  Her  little  daugh¬ 
ter  dresses  like  her,  for  the  costume  is  hereditary. 
On  her  shoulders  is  a  huge  basket  of  fish  bound 
by  a  strap  over  her  head.  These  fish  peddlers  are 
said  to  be  a  strange  race  of  people  living,  most  of 
them,  at  Leith,  and  rarely  intermarrying  outside 
of  their  own  community. 

At  the  castle  we  see  that  the  moat,  portcullis, 
and  sally  port  are  still  there.  We  pass  through 
the  outer  defences,  which  have  so  often  echoed 
with  battle-cries  and  the  clang  of  claymores,  for 
this  old  castle  has  been  taken  and  retaken  many 
times.  Reaching  what  are  now  the  soldiers’  bar¬ 
racks,  we  see  a  little  room  in  which  Mary  Queen 
of  Scots  gave  birth  to  James  the  Sixth  of  Scotland 
and  First  of  England,  in  whom  the  two  thrones 
of  the  island  were  united.  It  seems  a  rough  room 
for  a  queen  to  live  in. 

The  ascent  of  High  Street  is  much  like  climb¬ 
ing  a  staircase,  resting  on  landings  at  the  second, 
third,  or  fourth  floor.  When,  however,  one  reaches 
the  top  and  scans  the  glorious  panorama,  he  feels 
like  asking,  especially,  as  he  sees  that  the  highest 
and  oldest  building  is  Queen  Margaret’s  Chapel, 
—  a  house  of  worship,  —  “  Does  God  live  here  ?  ” 


EDINBURGH  THE  PICTURESQUE 


35 


Of  all  the  places  of  interest  which  we  saw  within 
or  near  the  great  citadel,  there  was  one  little  cor¬ 
ner  of  earth,  with  rocky  environment  but  without 
deep  soil,  set  apart  as  a  cemetery  for  soldiers’  pets 
and  mascots.  The  sight  touched  us  most  deeply. 
Here  were  buried,  with  appropriate  memorials 
and  inscriptions,  probably  twenty  of  the  faitliful 
dumb  servants  of  man,  mostly  dogs,  from  which 
their  masters  had  not  loved  to  part. 

It  compels  thought  to  recall  the  fact  that,  in 
large  measure,  man  is  what  he  is  because  of  his 
dumb  friends.  What  would  he  be  without  the 
horse,  the  dog,  the  cow,  the  domesticated  beasts 
of  burden,  and  our  dumb  friends  generally?  With¬ 
out  the  white  man,  the  Iroquois  of  America  and 
the  Maoris  of  New  Zealand  would  undoubtedly 
have  arisen  into  a  higher  civilization,  had  they 
been  possessed  of  beasts  of  draught  or  burden,  or 
which  gave  food,  protection,  or  manifold  service. 
Could  they  have  made  early  use  of  the  wonderful 
gifts  of  the  finer  breeds  of  the  dog  and  the  horse, 
what  steps  of  advancement  might  they  not  have 
taken?  How  far  would  the  Aztecs,  Incas,  and 
Algonquins  have  advanced  without  domestic  fowls 
and  cattle?  What  would  the  Japanese  islanders 
have  been,  without  the  numerous  domestic  ani¬ 
mals  imported  from  China  in  historic  times? 
What  would  Europe  and  America  be,  bereft  of 
the  gifts  they  have  both  received  from  Asia? 

How  striking  are  the  narratives  of  the  early 


36 


BONNIE  SCOTLAND 


colonists  in  America,  that  reveal  to  us  the  fact  that 
the  aboriginal  Indian  had  only  a  wolf-dog  of  diminu¬ 
tive  size  and  slight  powers,  while  the  canine  breeds 
of  Europe  not  only  showed  more  varied  and  higher 
qualities,  hut  were  larger  in  size.  Of  these  strange 
creatures,  the  red  men  were  usually  more  afraid 
than  of  their  white  owners.  How  surprising  was 
the  experience  of  the  Mexicans,  who,  on  beholding 
the  Spanish  cavaliers,  cased  in  steel,  thought  the 
horse  and  the  rider  were  one  animal !  What  would 
South  America  and  her  early  savages  have  been, 
if  left  without  the  friends  of  man  imported  from 
the  Asian  continent? 

As  at  The  Hague  and  at  Delft,  one  notes  with 
the  statue  of  William  the  Silent  the  little  dog  that 
saved  his  life ;  so  at  Edinburgh  we  see  at  the  feet 
of  the  effigy  of  Sir  W alter,  the  poet  and  romancer, 
his  favorite  dog  Maida.  Few  ejnsodes  are  more 
touching  than  that  of  the  dog  Lufra,  in  Canto  V 
of  the  “  Lady  of  the  Lake.” 

After  such  a  picture  of  mutual  devotion  between 
man  and  brute,  it  seems  little  wonder  that  in  Scot¬ 
land  has  been  bred  what  is  perhaps  the  noblest 
type  of  canine  life.  In  the  physical  characteristics 
of  speed,  alertness,  fleetness,  the  Scotch  collie  is 
second  to  none  in  the  kingdom  of  dogs,  while  in 
the  almost  human  traits  of  loyalty  to  his  master 
and  devotion  to  his  interests,  this  friend  of  man 
crowns  an  age-long  evolution  from  the  wild.  Hap¬ 
pily  in  art,  which  is  the  praise  of  life,  Scotland’s 


EDINBURGH  THE  PICTURESQUE 


37 


collie  and  hound  have  found  the  immortality  of 
man’s  appreciation.  This  is  shown,  not  only  in  the 
word  paintings  of  her  poets  and  romancers,  but 
on  the  canvas  of  Landseer,  the  Shakespeare  of 
dogs.  In  the  Iligldands  this  English  painter  fomid 
some  of  his  noblest  inspii’ations. 

Edinbui-gh,  besides  being  a  brain-stimulant,  be¬ 
cause  it  is  the  focus  of  Scottish  history,  is  also 
a  heart-warmer.  Holyrood  Palace,  Arthur’s  Seat, 
Grey  Friar’s  Churchyard,  St.  Giles’s  Church,  the 
University,  Calton  HiU  —  what  memories  do  they 
conjure  up,  what  thought  compel?  A  Scottish  Sab¬ 
bath  —  how  impressive !  One  can  no  more  write 
the  history  of  Scotland  or  pen  a  description  of  the 
country  and  people,  and  leave  out  religion,  than 
tell  of  Greece  or  Japan  and  make  no  mention  of 
art. 


CHAPTER  V 

MELROSE  ABBEY  AND  SIR  WALTER  SCOTT 

Always  fond  of  fireside  travels,  I  had,  many  a 
time,  in  imagination,  ridden  with  William  of  Delo- 
raine  from  Branksome  Hall,  through  the  night  and 
into  the  ruins  of  Melrose  Abbey.  His  errand  was 
to  visit  the  grave  of  Michael  Scott,  whose  fame  had 
penetrated  all  Europe  and  whom  even  Dante  men¬ 
tions  in  his  deathless  lines.  Now,  however,  I  had 
a  purpose  other  than  seeing  ruins.  If  possible,  I 
was  determined  to  pick  a  fiower,  or  a  fern,  from 
near  the  wizard’s  grave  to  serve  as  ingredient  for 
a  philter. 

Does  not  Sir  Walter,  in  his  “Rob  Roy,”  tell 
us  that  the  cailliachs,  or  old  Highland  hags,  ad¬ 
ministered  drugs,  which  were  designed  to  have 
the  effeet  of  love  potions  ?  Who  knows  but  these 
concoctions  were  made  from  plants  grown  near  the 
wonder-worker’s  tomb?  At  any  rate,  I  imagined 
that  one  such  bloom,  leaf,  or  root,  sent  across  the 
sea,  to  a  halting  lover,  might  reinforce  his  courage 
to  make  the  proposal,  which  I  doubt  not  was  ex¬ 
pected  on  the  other  side  of  the  house.  At  least 
we  dare  say  this  to  the  grandchildren  of  the  long 
wedded  pair. 

So  glorified  were  the  gray  ruins  of  Melrose,  in 


MELROSE  ABBEY  AND  SIR  WALTER  39 


Scott’s  enchanting  poetry,  that  I  almost  feared  to 
look,  in  common  sunlight,  upon  the  broken  arches 
and  the  shafted  orioles ;  for  does  not  Scott,  who 
warns  us  to  see  Melrose  “  by  the  pale  moonlight,” 
tell  us  that 

“  The  gay  beams  of  lightsome  day 
Gild  but  to  flout  the  ruin  gray.” 

Yet  the  tourist’s  time,  especially  when  in  com¬ 
pany,  is  not  usually  his  own,  and  for  me,  though 
often,  later,  at  the  abbey,  the  opportunity  never 
came  of  visiting  “  fair  Melrose  aright,”  by  seeing 
its  fascinations  under  lunar  rays,  or  in 

“  the  cold  light’s  uncertain  shower.” 

On  the  morning  of  July  11,  we  had  our  first 
view  from  the  railway.  The  ruins  loomed  dark  and 
grand.  Approaching  on  foot  the  pile,  closely  sur¬ 
rounded  as  it  was  by  houses  and  Mammonites  and 
populated  chiefly  by  rooks,  the  first  view  was  not 
as  overpowering  as  if  I  had  come  unexpectedly  to 
it  under  the  silver  light  of  the  moon.  Yet,  on  lin¬ 
gering  in  the  aisles  within  the  ruined  nave  and 
walking  up  and  down  amid  the  broken  marbles, 
imagination  easily  pictured  again  that  spectacular 
worship,  so  enjoyed  in  the  Middle  Ages  and  be¬ 
loved  by  many  still,  which  makes  so  powerful  and 
multitudinous  an  appeal  to  the  senses  and  emotions. 

The  west  front  and  a  large  portion  of  the  north 
half  of  the  nave  and  aisle  of  the  abbey  have  per¬ 
ished,  but  the  two  transepts,  the  chancel  and  the 


40 


BONNIE  SCOTLAND 


choir,  the  two  western  piers  of  the  tower,  and  the 
sculptured  roof  of  the  east  end  are  here  yet  to 
enthral.  I  thought  of  the  processions  aloft,  of  the 
monks,  up  and  down  through  the  interior  clere¬ 
story  passage,  which  runs  all  around  the  church. 
Again,  in  the  chambers  of  fancy,  the  choir  sang, 
the  stone  rood  screen  reflected  torch  and  candle¬ 
light,  and  the  lamp  of  the  churchman  shed  its 
rays,  while  the  “  toil  drops  ”  of  the  knight  Wil¬ 
liam,  “  fell  from  his  brows  like  rain,”  as  “  he 
moved  the  massy  stone  at  length.” 

A  minute  examination  of  the  carving  of  win¬ 
dows,  aisles,  cloister,  capitals,  bosses,  and  door- 
heads  well  repays  one’s  sympathetic  scrutiny,  for 
no  design  is  repeated.  What  loving  care  was  that 
of  mediaeval  craftsmen,  who  took  pride  in  their 
work,  loving  it  more  than  money !  Proofs  of  this 
are  still  visible  here.  Such  beauty  and  artistic  tri¬ 
umphs  open  a  window  into  the  life  of  the  Middle 
Ages.  From  the  south  of  Europe,  the  travelling 
guilds  of  architects  and  masons,  and  of  men  expert 
with  the  chisel,  must  have  come  hither  to  put  their 
magic  touch  upon  the  stone  of  this  edifice,  which 
was  so  often  built,  destroyed,  and  built  again.  “  A 
penny  a  day  and  a  little  bag  of  meal  ”  was  the 
daily  dole  of  wages  to  each  craftsman.  One  may 
still  trace  here  the  monogram  of  the  master  work¬ 
man. 

Under  the  high  altar  in  this  Scottish  abbey, 
the  heart  of  Robert  the  Bruce  was  buried.  In- 


MELROSE  ABBEY  AND  SIR  WALTER  41 


tensely  dramatie  is  the  double  incident  of  its  be¬ 
ing  carried  toward  Palestine  by  its  valorous  cus¬ 
todian,  who,  in  battle  with  the  ,  Saracens,  hurled 
the  casket  containing  it  at  the  foe,  with  the  cry, 
“  Forward,  heart  of  Bruce,  and  Douglas  shall  fol¬ 
low  thee.” 

In  the  chancel  are  famous  tombs  of  men  whose 
glory  the  poet  has  celebrated.  Here,  tradition¬ 
ally,  at  least,  is  the  sepulchre  of  Michael  Scott, 
visited,  according  to  Sir  Walter’s  lay,  by  the  monk 
accompanying  William  of  Deloraine.  With  torch 
in  hand  and  feet  unshod,  the  holy  man  led  the 
knight. 

It  was  “  in  havoc  of  feudal  war,”  when  the 
widowed  Lady,  mistress  of  Branksome  Hall,  was 
called  upon  to  decide  whether  her  daughter  Mar¬ 
garet  should  be  her  “  foeman’s  bride.”  “  Amid  the 
armed  train”  she  called  to  her  side  William  of 
Deloraine  and  bade  him  visit  the  wizard’s  tomb 
on  St.  Michael’s  night  and  get  from  his  dead  hand, 
“  the  bead,  scroll,  or  be  it  book,”  to  decide  as  to 
the  marriage. 

Now  for  Scott’s  home !  On  the  bank  of  Scot¬ 
land’s  most  famous  river,  the  Tweed,  two  miles 
above  Melrose,  was  a  small  farm  called  Clarty 
Hole,  which  the  great  novelist  bought  in  1811. 
Changing  the  name  to  Abbotsford,  he  built  a  small 
viUa,  which  is  now  the  western  wing  of  the  pres¬ 
ent  edifice.  As  he  prospered,  he  made  additions 
in  the  varied  styles  of  his  country’s  architecture 


42 


BONNIE  SCOTLAND 


in  different  epochs.  The  result  is  a  large  and  ir¬ 
regularly  built  mansion,  which  the  “  Wizard  of 
the  North  ”  occupied  twenty-one  years.  It  has 
been  called  “  a  romance  in  stone  and  lime.” 
Knowing  that  the  Tweed  had  been  for  centuries 
beaded  like  a  rosary  with  monasteries  and  that 
monks  had  often  crossed  at  the  ford  near  by,  Sir 
Walter  coined  the  new  name  and  gave  it  to  the 
structure  in  which  so  much  of  his  wonderful  work 
was  done  for  the  delight  of  generations.  Curiously 
enough,  in  America,  while  many  places  have  been 
named  after  persons  and  events  suggested  by 
Scott’s  fiction,  only  one  town,  and  that  in  Wis¬ 
consin,  bears  this  name  of  Abbotsford. 

With  a  jolly  party  of  Americans,  we  entered 
the  house,  thinking  of  Wolfert’s  Roost  at  Tarry- 
town,  New  York,  and  its  occupant  Washington 
Irving,  who  had  been  a  warm  friend  of  Sir  Walter. 
It  was  he  who  gave  him,  among  other  ideas,  the 
original  of  Rebecca,  a  Jewish  maiden  of  Philadel¬ 
phia,  whose  idealization  appears,  in  Scott’s  beau¬ 
tiful  story  of  “Ivanhoe,”  as  the  daughter  of  Isaac 
of  York.  Memory  also  recalls  that  Scott  wrote 
poetry  that  is  yet  sung  in  Christian  worship,  for 
in  Rebecca’s  mouth  he  puts  the  lyric, — 

“  When  Israel  of  the  Lord  beloved.” 

In  the  dim  aisles  of  Melrose  Abbey,  before 
Michael  Scott’s  tomb,  “the  hymn  of  intercession 
rose.”  The  mediaeval  Latin  of  “  Dies  Irae  ”  has 


MELROSE  ABBEY  AND  SIR  WALTER  43 


many  stanzas,  but  Scott  condensed  their  substance 
into  twelve  lines,  beginning;  — 

“  That  day  of  wrath,  that  dreadful  day, 

When  Heaven  and  earth  shall  pass  away.” 

We  were  shown  the  novelist’s  study  and  his 
library,  the  drawing-room  and  the  entrance  hall. 
The  roof  of  the  library  is  designed  chiefly  from 
models  taken  from  lioslyn  Chapel,  with  its  match¬ 
less  pillar  that  suggests  a  casket  of  jewels.  While 
many  objects  interested  us  both,  it  is  clear,  on  the 
surface  of  things,  that  our  lady  companion,  Quan- 
dril,  was  not  so  much  concerned  with  what  the 
cicerone  told  to  the  group  of  listeners  as  were 
certain  male  students  present,  who,  also,  were 
slaves  of  the  pen  :  to  wit,  that  when  Sir  W alter 
could  not  sleep,  because  of  abnormal  brain  activ¬ 
ity,  he  would  come  out  of  his  bedroom,  through 
the  door,  which  was  pointed  out  to  us  in  the  upper 
corner,  and  shave  himself.  This  mechanical  oper¬ 
ation,  with  industry  applied  to  brush,  lather,  steel, 
and  stubble,  diverted  his  attention  and  soothed 
his  nerves.  More  than  one  brain-worker,  imitating 
Sir  Walter,  has  found  that  this  remedy  for  in¬ 
somnia  is  usually  effectual. 

Another  fascinating  monastic  ruin  is  Dryburgh 
on  the  Tweed.  It  was  once  the  scene  of  Druidical 
rites.  The  original  name  was  Celtic,  meaning  the 
“  bank  of  the  oaks.”  St.  Modan,  an  Irish  Culdee, 
established  a  sanctuary  here  in  the  sixth  century, 


44 


BONNIE  SCOTLAND 


and  King  David  I,  in  1150,  built  the  fine  ab¬ 
bey.  Here,  in  St.  Mary’s  aisle,  sleeps  the  dust  of 
the  romancer  who  re-created,  to  the  imagination, 
mediaeval  Scotland.  Certainly  her  greatest  inter¬ 
preter  in  prose  and  verse  is  one  of  the  land’s  jew¬ 
els  and  a  material  asset  of  permanent  value. 

The  fame  of  Sir  Walter  yields  a  revenue,  which, 
though  not  recorded  in  government  documents,  is 
worth  to  the  Scottish  people  millions  of  guineas. 
From  all  over  the  world  come  annually  tens  of 
thousands  of  pilgrims  to  Scotland,  and  they  jour¬ 
ney  hither  because  the  “  Wizard  of  the  North  ” 
has  magnetized  them  through  his  magic  pen.  Prob¬ 
ably  a  majority  are  Americans.  Not  even  Shake¬ 
speare  can  attract,  to  Stratford,  at  least,  so  many 
literary  or  otherwise  interested  pilgrims  of  the 
spirit,  as  does  Burns  or  Scott. 

We  move  next  and  still  southward  to  Gretna 
Green  — for  centuries  mentioned  with  jest  and  mer¬ 
riment.  Of  old,  those  rigid  laws  of  State-Church- 
ridden  England  concerning  marriage,  which  made 
the  blood  of  Free  Churchmen  boil,  while  rousing 
the  contempt  and  disgust  of  Americans,  compelled 
many  runaway  couples  from  across  the  English 
border  to  seek  legal  union  under  the  more  easy 
statutes  of  Scotland.  Gretna  Green  was  the  first 
convenient  halting-place  for  those  who  would  evade 
the  oppressive  requirements  of  the  English  Mar¬ 
riage  Act.  For  generations,  thousands  of  nuptial 
ceremonies  were  performed  by  various  local  per- 


UKYJirUGH  ABBEY 


;.J 


;'y. 


'  im  'y:  .-  , 


?*'■«  •>:  ■  '■•  '  1" 


M.  -X^  ;  W  4-^S>#;^ 

'I  ’  -  !  ■'  .  '* 


'*0 


■  V 


\  V 


■■ ' 


'  )  ■■ 


4'',:  1.1® 


MELROSE  ABBEY  AND  SIR  WALTER  45 


sons  or  officials,  though  chiefly  by  the  village 
blacksmith.  Other  places,  like  Lamberton,  shared 
in  the  honors  and  revenue  also.  One  sign,  visible 
for  many  years,  read,  “  Ginger  Beer  Sold  Here, 
and  marriages  performed  on  the  most  reasonable 
terms.” 

English  law,  framed  by  the  House  of  Lords,  com¬ 
pelled  not  only  the  consent  of  parents  and  guard¬ 
ians,  but  also  the  publication  of  banns,  the  pres¬ 
ence  of  a  priest  of  the  Established  Church,  fixed 
and  inconvenient  hours,  and  other  items  of  delay 
and  expense.  All  that  Scotland  required,  however, 
as  in  New  York  State,  was  a  mutual  declaration  of 
marriage,  to  be  exchanged  in  presence  of  witnesses. 

The  blacksmith  of  Gretna  Green  was  no  more 
important  than  other  village  characters,  nor  did 
his  anvil  and  tongs  have  any  ritual  significance, 
because  any  witness  was  eligible  to  solemnize  a 
ceremony  which  could  be  performed  instantly. 
Gradually,  however,  as  in  so  many  other  instances 
of  original  nonentities  in  Church  and  State,  the 
blacksmith  gradually  assumed  an  authority  which ' 
imposed  upon  the  credulity  of  the  English  stran¬ 
gers,  who  usually  came  in  a  fluttering  mood.  In  that 
way,  the  local  disciple  of  St.  Dunstan  is  said  to 
have  profited  handsomely  by  the  liberality  usually 
dispensed  on  such  felicitous  occasions.  The  couple 
could  then  return  at  once  to  England,  where  their 
marriage  was  recognized  as  valid,  because  the  nup¬ 
tial  imion,  if  contracted  according  to  the  law  of 


46 


BONNIE  SCOTLAND 


the  place  where  the  parties  took  the  marital  vow, 
was  legal  in  the  United  Kingdom. 

After  the  severity  of  the  English  law,  under  the 
hammering  of  the  Free  Church  had  been  modi¬ 
fied,  Gretna  Green  was  spoiled  as  a  more  or  less 
romantic  place  of  marriages,  and  held  no  charms 
for  elopers.  Scottish  law,  also,  was  so  changed  as 
to  check  this  evasion  of  the  English  statutes.  No 
irregular  marriage  of  the  kind,  formerly  and  ex¬ 
tensively  in  vogue,  is  now  valid,  unless  one  of  the 
parties  has  lived  in  Scotland  for  twenty-one  days 
before  becoming  either  bride  or  groom.  Gretna 
Green  no  longer  points  a  joke  or  slur  except  in  the 
preterite  sense. 

Sir  Walter  Scott,  who  sentinels  for  us  the  en¬ 
chanted  land  we  are  entering,  was  in  large  meas¬ 
ure  the  interpreter  of  Scotland,  but  he  was  more. 
In  a  sense,  he  was  his  native  country’s  epitome  and 
incarnation.  His  literary  career,  however,  illus¬ 
trated,  in  miniature,  almost  aU  that  Disraeli  has 
written  in  his  “  Curiosities  of  Literature,”  and  es¬ 
pecially  in  the  chapter  concerning  “  the  calamities 
of  authors.”  Happily,  however,  Scott’s  life  was 
free  from  those  quarrels  to  which  men  of  letters 
are  so  prone,  and  of  which  American  literary  his¬ 
tory  is  sufficiently  full.  Millions  have  been  de¬ 
lighted  with  his  poetry,  which  he  continued  to 
write  until  Byron,  his  rival,  had  occulted  his  fame. 
He  is  credited  with  having  “invented  the  histori¬ 
cal  novel  ”  —  an  award  of  honor  with  which,  un- 


MELROSE  ABBEY  AND  SIR  WALTER  47 


less  the  claim  is  localized  to  Europe,  those  who 
are  familiar  with  the  literature  of  either  China  or 
Japan  cannot  possibly  agree.  Yet,  in  English,  he 
was  pioneer  in  making  the  facts  of  history  seem 
more  real  through  romance. 

Scott  was  born  in  a  happy  time  and  in  the  right 
place  —  on  the  borderland,  which  for  ages  had 
been  the  domain  of  Mars.  Here,  in  earlier  days, 
the  Roman  and  the  Piet  had  striven  for  mastery. 
Later,  Celtic  Scot  and  invaders  of  Continental 
stock  fought  over  and  stained  almost’  every  acre 
with  blood.  Still  later,  the  Lowlanders,  of  Teutonic 
origin,  and  the  southern  English  battled  with  one 
another  for  centuries.  On  a  soil  strewn  with  mossy 
and  ivied  ruins,  amid  a  landscape  that  had  for  him 
a  thousand  tongues,  and  in  an  air  that  was  full  of 
legend,  song,  and  story,  Scott  grew  up.  Though  not 
much  of  a  routine  student,  he  was  a  ravenous 
reader.  Through  his  own  neglect  of  mental  disci¬ 
pline,  in  which  under  good  teachers  he  might  have 
perfected  himself,  he  entered  into  active  life,  no¬ 
tably  defective  on  the  philosophic  side  of  his  mental 
equipment,  and  somewhat  ill-balanced  in  his  per¬ 
spective  of  the  past,  while  shallow  in  his  views  of 
contemporary  life. 

Despite  Scott’s  brilliant  imagery,  and  the  com¬ 
pelling  charm  of  his  pageants  of  history,  there 
were  never  such  Middle  Ages  as  he  pictured.  For, 
while  the  lords  and  ladies,  the  heroes  and  the 
armed  men,  their  exploits  and  adventures  in  castle, 


48 


BONNIE  SCOTLAND 


tourney,  and  field,  are  pictured  in  rapid  move¬ 
ment  and  witfi  fascinating  color,  yet  of  the  real 
Middle  Ages,  which,  for  the  mass  of  humanity, 
meant  serfdom  and  slavery,  with  brutality  and 
licentiousness  above,  weakness  and  ignorance  be¬ 
low,  with  frequent  visits  of  plague,  pestilence,  and 
famine,  Scott  has  next  to  nothing  to  say.  As  for 
his  anachronisms,  their  name  is  legion. 

Nevertheless  Scott  had  the  supreme  power  of 
vitalizing  character.  He  has  enriched  our  experi¬ 
ence,  through  imaginative  contact  with  beings  who 
are  ever  afterwards  more  intimately  distinct  and 
real  for  us  than  the  people  we  daily  meet.  None 
could  surpass  and  few  equal  Scott  in  clothing  a 
historical  fact  or  fossil  with  the  pulsing  blood  and 
radiant  bloom  of  life,  compelling  it  to  stand  forth  in 
resurrection  of  power.  Scott  thus  surely  possesses 
the  final  test  of  greatness,  in  his  ability  to  impress 
our  imagination,  while  haunting  our  minds  with  fig¬ 
ures  and  events  that  seem  to  have  life  even  more  abun¬ 
dantly  than  mortal  beings  who  are  our  neighbors. 

Critics  of  to-day  find  fault  with  Scott,  chiefly 
because  he  was  deficient  in  certain  of  the  higher 
and  deeper  qualities,  for  which  they  look  in  vain 
in  his  writings,  while  his  poetry  lacks  those  refine¬ 
ments  of  finish  which  we  are  accustomed  to  exact 
from  our  modern  singers.  However,  those  to  whom 
the  old  problems  of  life  and  truth  are  yet  unsettled, 
and  who  still  discuss  the  questions  over  which  men 
centuries  ago  fought  and  for  which  they  were  glad  to 


MELROSE  ABBEY  AND  SIR  WALTER  49 


spill  their  blood  in  defence  and  attack,  accuse  Scott 
of  a  partisanship  which  to  them  seems  contemptible. 
Moreover,  his  many  anachronisms  and  grave  his¬ 
torical  blunders,  viewed  in  the  light  of  a  larger 
knowledge  of  men  and  nations,  seem  ridiculous. 

Yet  after  all  censure  has  been  meted  out  and 
judgment  given,  it  is  probable  that  in  frank  aban¬ 
don  for  boldness  and  breadth  of  effect,  and  in 
painting  with  words  a  succession  of  clear  pictures, 
his  poems  are  unexcelled  in  careless,  rapid,  easy 
narrative  and  in  unfailing  life,  spirit,  vigorous 
and  fiery  movement.  Had  Scott  exercised  over  his 
prose  writings  a  more  jealous  rigor  of  supervision, 
and  had  he  eliminated  the  occasional  infusions  of 
obviously  inferior  matter,  his  entire  body  of  writ¬ 
ings  would  have  been  even  more  familiar  and 
popular  than  they  are  to-day.  It  is  safe  to  say 
that  only  a  selection  of  the  most  notable  of  his 
works  is  really  enjoyed  in  our  age,  though  un¬ 
doubtedly  there  will  always  be  loyal  lovers  of  the 
“  Magician  of  the  North,”  who  still  loyally  read 
through  Scott’s  entire  repertoire.  Indeed,  we  have 
known  some  who  do  this  annually  and  delightedly. 
Taking  his  romances  in  chronological  order,  one 
may  travel  in  the  observation  car  of  imagination 
through  an  enchanted  land,  having  a  background 
of  history  ;  while  his  poems  surpass  Baedeker, 
Black,  or  Murray  as  guide  books  to  Melrose  Abbey, 
through  the  Trossachs,  to  Ellen’s  Isle,  or  along 
Teviot’s  “  silver  tide.” 


CHAPTER  VI 

RAMBLES  ALONG  THE  BORDER 

W HERE  does  the  Scot’s  Land  begin  and  where 
end  ?  To  the  latter  half  of  the  question,  the  an¬ 
swer  is  apparently  easy,  for  the  sea  encloses  the 
peninsula.  Thus,  on  three  sides,  salt  water  forms 
the  boundary,  though  many  are  the  islands  beyond. 
On  the  southern  or  land  side,  the  region  was  for 
ages  debatable  and  only  in  recent  times  fixed. 
Scotland’s  scientific  frontier  is  young. 

Sixteen  times  did  we  cross  this  border-line,  to 
see  homes  and  native  people  as  weU  as  places.  In 
some  years  we  went  swiftly  over  the  steel  rails  by 
steam,  in  others  tarried  in  town  and  country,  and 
rambled  over  heath,  hill,  and  moor,  to  see  the  face 
of  the  land.  We  lived  again,  in  our  saunterings, 
by  the  magic  of  imagination,  in  the  past  of  history. 
Affluent  is  the  lore  to  be  enjoyed  in  exploring 
what  was  once  the  Debatable  or  No  Man’s  Land. 

What  area  is  richer  in  ruins  than  that  of  the 
shire  counties  bordering  the  two  countries?  Yet 
there  is  a  difference,  both  in  nature  and  art.  On 
the  English  side,  not  a  few  relics  in  stone  remain 
of  the  old  days,  both  in  picturesque  ruins  and  in 
inhabited  and  modernized  castles.  On  the  other 
or  Scotch  side,  few  are  the  towers  yet  visible,  while 


RAMBLES  ALONG  THE  BORDER 


51 


over  the  sites  of  what  were  once  thick- walled  places 
of  defence  and  often  the  scene  of  blows  and  strife, 
the  cattle  now  roam,  the  plough  cuts  its  furrows, 
or  only  grassy  mounds  mark  the  spot  where  pas¬ 
sions  raged.  Let  us  glance  at  this  border  region, 
its  features,  its  names,  and  its  chronology.  How 
did  “  Scotland  ”  “  get  on  the  map  ”  ? 

This  familiar  name  is  comparatively  modern, 
but  Caledonia  Is  ancient  and  poetical.  The  Roman 
poet  Lucan,  in  a.d.  64,  makes  use  of  the  term, 
and  in  Roman  writers  we  find  that  there  existed 
a  district,  a  forest,  and  a  tribe,  each  bearing  the 
name  “  Caledonia,”  and  spoken  of  by  Ptolemy. 
The  first  Latin  invasion  was  under  Agricola,  about 
A.D.  83,  and  a  decisive  battle  was  fought,  accord¬ 
ing  to  his  son-in-law,  Tacitus,  on  the  slopes  of  Mons 
Graupius,  a  range  of  hills  which  in  modern  days 
is  known  as  the  “  Grampian  HiUs.”  To  our  childish 
imagination,  “  Norval  ”  whose  father  fed  his  flock 
on  these  heathery  heights,  was  more  of  a  living 
hero  than  was  the  mighty  Roman.  Of  Agricola’s 
wall,  strengthened  with  a  line  of  forts,  there  are 
remains  still  standing,  and  two  of  these  strong¬ 
holds,  at  Camelon  and  Barhill,  have  been  identified 
and  excavated. 

Perhaps  the  most  northerly  of  the  ascertained 
Roman  encampments  in  Scotland  is  at  Inchtuthill. 
Where  the  Tay  and  Isla  Rivers  join  their  waters  — 

“  Rome  the  Empress  of  the  world, 

Of  yore  her  eagle  wings  unfurled.” 


62 


BONNIE  SCOTLAND 


The  Romans  left  the  country  and  did  not  enter 
it  again  until  a.d.  140,  when  the  wall  of  Antoninus 
Pius  was  built,  from  sea  to  sea,  and  other  forts 
erected.  It  was  on  pillared  crags  and  prow-like 
headlands,  between  the  North  and  South  Tynes, 
along  the  verge  of  which  the  Romans  carried  their 
boundary  of  stone. 

The  Caledonians  remained  unconquered  and 
regained  full  possession  of  their  soil,  about  a.d. 
180.  Then  the  Emperor  Septimus  Severus  in¬ 
vaded  the  land,  but  after  his  death  the  Roman 
writ  never  ran  again  north  of  the  Cheviot  Hills. 
Summing  up  the  whole  matter,  the  Latin  occupa¬ 
tion  was  military,  without  effect  on  Caledonian 
civilization,  so  that  the  people  of  this  Celtic  north- 
land  were  left  to  work  out  their  own  evolution 
without  Roman  influence  and  under  the  aegis  of 
Christianity. 

If  we  may  trust  our  old  friend  Lempriere  (1765— 
1824),  of  Classical  Dictionary  fame,  —  the  second 
edition  of  whose  useful  manual  furnished,  to  a 
clerk  in  Albany,  the  Greek  and  Latin  names  which 
he  shot,  like  grape  and  canister,  over  the  “  Military 
Tract,”  in  New  York  State,  surveyed  by  Simeon 
DeWitt,  —  we  may  get  light  on  the  meaning  of 
“  Caledonia  ”  and  “  Scot.”  The  former  comes  from 
“Kaled,”  meaning  “rough”;  hence  the  “  Cale- 
donii,”  “  the  rude  nation,”  —  doubtless  an  opinion 
held  mutually  of  one  another  by  the  Romans  and 
their  opponents.  The  term  survives  in  the  second 


RAMBLES  ALONG  THE  BORDER 


53 


syllable  of  Dunkeld.  “  Piet,”  or  “pecht,”  is  stated 
to  mean  “freebooters.”  “Scot”  means  “allied,” 
or  in  “union,”  and  the  Scots  formed  a  united 
nation.  Another  author  traces  Caledonia  to  the 
term  “  Gael-doch,”  meaning  “  the  country  of  the 
Gael,”  or  the  Highlander. 

After  the  invasions  of  the  Komans,  there  fol¬ 
lowed  the  Teutonic  incursions  and  settlements, 
which  were  by  the  mediaeval  kingdoms,  and  the 
struggles  between  the  Northerners  and  Southrons, 
but  no  regular  boundary  was  recognized  until 
1532.  For  a  millennium  and  a  half,  or  from  Ro¬ 
man  times,  this  border  land  was  a  region  given 
up  to  lawlessness,  nor  did  anything  approaching 
order  seem  possible  until  Christianity  had  been 
generally  accepted.  Faith  transformed  both  soci¬ 
ety  and  the  face  of  nature.  By  the  twelfth  cen¬ 
tury,  churches,  abbeys,  and  monasteries  had  made 
the  rugged  landscape  smile  in  beauty,  while  soft¬ 
ening  somewhat  the  manners  of  the  rude  inhabit¬ 
ants.  Yet  even  within  times  of  written  history, 
nine  great  battles  and  innumerable  raids,  of 
which  several  are  notable  in  record,  song,  or  bal¬ 
lad,  took  place  in  this  region.  These,  for  the  most 
part,  were  either  race  struggles  or  contests  for  the 
supremacy  of  kings. 

In  modern  days,  when  “  the  border,”  though  no 
longer  a  legal  term,  holds  its  place  in  history  and 
literature,  it  has  been  common  to  speak  of  the 
country  “  north  of  the  Tweed  ”  as  meaning  Scot- 


64 


BONNIE  SCOTLAND 


land.  Yet  this  river  forms  fewer  than  twenty 
miles  of  the  recognized  boundary,  which  in  a 
straight  line  would  be  but  seventy  miles,  but 
which,  following  natural  features  of  river,  hill 
burn,  moor,  arm  of  the  sea,  and  imaginary  lines, 
measures  one  hundred  and  eight  miles.  The  ridge 
of  the  Cheviot  HUls  is  the  main  feature  of  demar¬ 
cation  for  about  twenty-five  miles.  A  tributary  of 
the  Esk  prolongs  the  line,  and  the  Sark  and  the 
Solway  Firth  complete  the  frontier  which  divides 
the  two  lands.  The  English  counties  of  Northum¬ 
berland  and  Cumberland  are  thus  separated  from 
the  Scottish  shires  of  Berwick,  Roxburghe,  and 
Dumfries.  In  former  times,  “  the  frontier  shifted 
according  to  the  surging  tides  of  war  and  diplo¬ 
macy.” 

Even  to  the  eleventh  century,  the  old  Kingdom 
of  Northumbria  included  part  of  what  is  now 
Scotland,  up  to  the  Firth  of  Forth  and  as  far  west 
as  Stirling.  In  1081,  however,  the  Earl  of  North¬ 
umberland  ceded  the  district  which  made  the 
Tweed  the  southern  boundary  of  the  Kingdom 
of  the  Scots.  Hence  the  honor  of  antiquity  be¬ 
longing  to  the  Tweed  as  the  eastern  border-line ! 
On  the  west,  however,  William  the  Conqueror 
wrenched  Cumberland  from  the  Scottish  sceptre, 
and  ever  since  it  has  remained  in  England. 

For  six  hundred  years,  from  the  eleventh  to  near 
the  end  of  the  seventeenth  century,  war  was  the  nor¬ 
mal  condition.  Peace  was  only  occasional.  In  this  era 


RAMBLES  ALONG  THE  BORDER 


66 


were  built  hundreds  of  those  three-storied  square 
towers  with  turrets  at  the  corners,  of  which  so 
many  ruins  or  overgrown  sites  remain.  On  each 
floor  was  one  room,  the  lower  one  for  cattle,  the 
upper  for  the  laird  and  his  family,  and  a  few 
ready-armed  retainers.  Around  this  bastel-house, 
or  fortified  dwelling,  were  ranged  the  thatched 
huts  of  the  followers  of  the  chief.  These,  on  the 
signal  of  approaching  enemies,  or  armed  force, 
crowded  into  the  stronghold.  In  feudal  days,  when 
these  strong  towers  were  like  links  in  a  chain, 
prompt  and  effective  notice  of  approaching  ma¬ 
rauders  could  be  sent  many  leagues  by  means  of 
beacon  fires  kindled  in  the  tower-tops  and  on  the 
walls.  Human  existence  in  these  abodes,  during  a 
prolonged  siege,  may  be  imagined. 

Perhaps  the  best  picture  of  castle  and  tower  life 
in  this  era,  though  somewhat  glorified,  is  that  of 
Branksome  Hall,  in  “The  Lay  of  the  Last  Min¬ 
strel.”  The  nine  and  twenty  knights,  in  full  armor 
night  and  day,  “  drank  the  red  wine  through  their 
helmets  barred.”  The  glamour  of  Scott,  the  liter¬ 
ary  wizard,  makes  castle  life  seem  almost  enviable 
—  but  oh,  the  reality !  Happily  to-day  lovely  homes 
have  taken  the  place  of  these  ancient  strongholds. 

On  the  Scottish  side,  besides  numerous  small 
streams,  are  many  stretches  of  fertile  land  with 
rich  valleys  and  intervales,  while  much  of  the 
scenery  is  romantic  and  beautiful.  In  the  south¬ 
western  corner,  one  does  not  forget  that  from  the 


56 


BONNIE  SCOTLAND 


eighth  to  the  tweKth  century  flourished  the  King¬ 
dom  of  Strathclyde,  which  bordered  on  the  Clyde 
River.  In  the  Rhins  of  Galloway  is  the  parish 
of  Kirkmaiden,  which  is  Scotland’s  most  south- 
ern  point.  The  common,  local  expression,  “  from 
Maidenkirk  to  John  o’  Groat’s  House,”  is  like 
that  of  “  from  Dan  to  Beersheba.”  Now,  how¬ 
ever,  not  a  few  sites  famous  in  song  and  story 
and  onee  part  of  the  Scots’  land  are  in  England, 
notably,  Flodden  Field,  and  in  the  sea,  Lindis- 
farne,  or  Holy  Isle,  so  famous  in  “  Marmion.” 
To-day,  on  Holy  Isle,  the  summer  tourists  make 
merry  and  few  perhaps  think  of  the  story  of  Con¬ 
stance  the  nun,  betrayed  by  Marmion  the  knight, 
condemned  by  her  superior,  incarcerated  in  the 
dungeons,  and  sent  to  her  death. 

Probably  the  ages  to  come  will  show  us  that 
the  most  enduring  monuments  of  centuries  of 
strife,  in  this  borderland,  must  not  be  looked  for 
in  its  memorials  of  stone,  but  in  language.  The 
“  winged  words  ”  may  outlast  what,  because  of 
material  solidity,  was  meant  for  permanence  and 
strength.  Minstrelsy  and  ballad,  poem  and  song, 
keep  alive  the  acts  of  courage  and  the  gallantry 
of  the  men  and  the  sacrifice  and  devotion  of  the 
women  which  light  up  these  dark  centuries.  To 
Scott,  Billings,  and  Percy  we  owe  a  debt  of  grati¬ 
tude,  for  rescuing  from  oblivion  the  gems  of  poet 
and  harpist. 

When  feudalism  gave  way  to  industry,  the 


RAMBLES  ALONG  THE  BORDER  57 

business  of  the  moss  trooper,  the  swashbuckler, 
and  the  cattle-thief  ceased  to  be  either  romantic  or 
useful.  The  same  fate  which,  in  the  Japan  of  my 
experience,  met  the  ruffians  and  professional  gen- 
tlemen-assassins,  was  visited  upon  the  Scottish 
borderers.  These  fellows  could  not  understand 
just  how  and  why  they  were  now  deemed  common 
ruffians  and  vile  murderers,  who  had  before  been 
powerful  chiefs  or  loyal  retainers.  Instead  of 
minstrels  singing  in  praise  of  their  exploits,  the 
gallows,  planted  on  a  hundred  hills,  awaited  them. 
The  Japanese  handled  their  problem  by  ordering 
to  the  common  public  execution  grounds  the  cow¬ 
ardly  assassins  of  foreigners,  instead  of  allowing 
them,  as  gentlemen,  to  commit  the  ceremony  of 
hara-kiri,  within  decorated  areas  curtained  with 
white  silk,  to  be  followed  by  posthumous  floral 
offerings  laid  on  their  tombs  by  admiring  friends. 

In  both  Scotland  and  Japan,  the  effectual 
method,  in  the  new  climate  of  public  opinion,  was 
to  deprive  the  thief  and  murderer  of  all  glory  and 
honor.  In  both  lands,  the  police  took  the  place  of 
the  military.  The  club  of  justice  fell  unerringly 
on  the  right  noddle,  instead  of  having  innocent 
bystanders  killed  by  the  bullets  of  soldiers.  In 
place  of  harmless  peasants  suffering  the  loss  of 
their  houses,  crops,  and  cattle,  the  border  male¬ 
factors,  who  later  furnished  themes  for  the  cheap 
stage  and  the  dime  novel,  paid  in  person  the  pen¬ 
alty  of  their  misdeeds. 


58 


BONNIE  SCOTLAND 


Yet  until  a  Scottish  king  sat  on  an  English 
throne,  the  attempts  to  create  a  peaceful  border 
region  were  more  or  less  fitful  and  but  partially 
successful.  It  is  true  that  the  area  had  long  before 
been  marked  off  into  three  districts,  or  marches, 
—  east,  middle,  and  west, — with  officers  called 
“  wardens.”  These,  aided  by  commissioners,  put 
down  petty  insurrections  and  punished  cattle- 
thieves.  Occasionally  a  warden  would  be  slain  at 
a  border  meeting,  as  was  Sir  Robert  Kerr,  whose 
murder  was  avenged  by  one  of  his  loyal  followers, 
who  pursued  the  assassin  as  far  as  York,  dragged 
him  out  of  concealment,  and  brought  his  head  to 
their  new  master.  This  exploit  almost  duplicated 
the  approved  episode  of  the  Japanese  Forty-seven 
Ronins  in  Yedo,  though  on  a  smaller  scale.  Fur¬ 
ther  to  carry  out  the  fashion,  which  I  used  to  see 
often  illustrated  in  Japan,  the  head  was  exposed  in 
Edinburgh,  on  the  king’s  cross. 

One  of  the  favorite  games  of  the  Scottish  bor¬ 
derers  was  to  meet,  ostensibly  to  play  football, 
but  in  reality  to  plan  and  execute  a  raid  south¬ 
ward,  with  a  view  to  incendiarism  and  the  theft 
of  butcher’s  meat  on  the  hoof.  Was  it  from  this 
Scotch  precedent  that  in  the  sport  of  American 
college  football  —  the  first  game  being  that  be¬ 
tween  Rutgers  and  Princeton  in  1870,  for  which 
we  subscribed  in  student  days  —  was  borrowed 
the  violence  which  makes  the  rough-and-tumble 
scuffle  so  fascinating  to  the  “fans”  of  to-day? 


RAMBLES  ALONG  THE  BORDER 


59 


Be  this  as  it  may,  the  earlier  Scottish  football 
games,  which  made  bullhide  rather  than  pigskin 
their  chief  goal,  were  broken  np  in  Queen  Eliza¬ 
beth’s  time. 

After  a  Scottish  king  had  mounted  the  English 
throne,  border  lawlessness  became  henceforth  ^in¬ 
tolerable.  It  had  lasted  long  enough,  and  after 
1605  was  put  down  with  ruthless  energy.  Those 
shires  in  both  England  and  Scotland,  which  had 
formerly  been  the  border  counties  and  so  often 
given  up  to  the  ravages  of  the  moss  troopers,  were 
named  by  King  James,  in  1603,  “the  Middle 
Shires  of  Great  Britain.”  By  means  of  a  band  of 
mounted  police,  twenty-five  in  number,  led  by  Sir 
William  Cranstoun,  murderers  and  robbers  were 
speedily  brought  to  justice.  In  one  year  thirty- 
two  persons  were  hanged,  fifteen  banished,  and  over 
one  hundred  and  forty  named  as  fugitive  outlaws. 
This  list  was  next  year  increased  and  their  names 
were  hung  up  at  the  market  crosses  and  on  the 
doors  of  parish  churches.  Over  two  hundred  and 
sixty  were  nominated  as  persons  to  be  pursued 
with  hue  and  cry,  wherever  they  were  found.  The 
nests  of  outlawry  were  thus  broken  up  and  the 
houses  of  thieving  families  were  searched  for  stolen 
goods.  Cranstoun,  the  Samson  of  the  new  age, 
carried  off  the  gates  of  the  Philistines  from  the 
Gaza  of  moss  and  heatherland.  Their  iron  por¬ 
tals,  which  had  so  long  barred  the  entrance  of 
civilization,  were  removed  and  dragged  away  to 


60 


BONNIE  SCOTLAND 


be  turaed  into  plough  irons.  Thus  the  work 
went  on. 

Is  it  any  wonder  that,  of  all  the  States  of  the 
American  Union,  Pennsylvania,  so  largely  settled 
by  the  Scots,  has  handled  most  wisely,  efficiently, 
and  with  least  loss  of  property,  life,  or  limb,  the 
turbulent  foreign  elements  within  her  gates?  Her 
superb  body  of  mounted  police,  the  envy  of  other 
States,  is  but  a  modern  quotation  from  this  page 
of  Scottish  history.  The  system  is  the  creation  of 
descendants  of  Scotsmen  who  settled  the  western 
third  of  the  Keystone  State.  Set  one  expert  to 
foil  another! 

It  is  inspiring  to  note  what  names  of  ancestors, 
of  those  who  are  to-day  most  godly  and  respected 
people,  having  brave  sons  and  lovely  daughters, 
are  found  in  these  courts  of  justice  in  the  time  of 
King  James,  of  Bible  translation  time.  So  far  is 
this  true  that  one  calls  to  mind  the  rhyme  of  our 
own  poet,  John  G.  Saxe,  concerning  those  who  are 
warned  not  to  study  genealogy  too  eagerly,  lest 

“  your  boasted  line 
May  end  in  a  loop  of  stronger  twine, 

That  plagued  some  worthy  relation.” 

Yet,  let  us  not  be  afraid  of  being  descended 
from  the  Maxwells,  Johnstons,  Jardines,  Elliots, 
Armstrongs,  Scotts,  Kerrs,  Buccleughs,  Nevilles, 
or  whom  not  or  what  not  of  these  days,  now  so 
transfigured  in  romance.  History  and  science  both 
agree  that  if  we  go  back  far  enough,  no  race  was 


RAMBLES  ALONG  THE  BORDER 


61 


once  lower  than  that  to  which  each  of  us  belongs, 
whether  Celtic,  Teutonic,  Slavic,  or  Aryan  of  any 
sort. 

It  was  and  is  necessary,  for  poet,  novelist,  dram¬ 
atist,  and  maker  of  moving-picture  films,  to  show 
that  these  illustrious  persons,  who  were  villains  in 
the  eye  of  the  law  in  one  age  and  heroes  of  ro¬ 
mance  in  another,  should  be  like  those  in  the  con¬ 
dition  that  our  Prescott  the  historian  desired  his 
heroes  to  be  —  under  the  ground  at  least  two 
hundred  years.  By  that  time  they  are  cooled  off 
and  their  passions  reduced  to  the  ordinary  tem¬ 
perature  of  graveyard  dust.  Their  faults  have 
been  left  in  the  haze  of  oblivion,  while  their  merits 
take  on  a  glamour  that  comes  only  from  the  past. 
In  the  “distance  that  robes  the  mountain  in  its 
azure  hue”  both  persons  and  events  can  be  trans¬ 
figured  in  poem,  song,  and  story. 

Think  of  the  last  of  the  desert  chivalries  and 
enthusiasms  —  our  cowboys  —  a  century  or  two 
hence !  Behold  how,  even  in  the  Hub  of  the  Uni¬ 
verse,  the  street  rioters  active  in  the  Boston 
“  Massacre  ”  have  their  artistic  monument !  What 
is  a  crime  in  one  generation  becomes  something 
to  be  gloried  in,  when  success  is  won!  With  the 
multitude,  the  end  ever  justifies  the  means.  The 
accepted  history  of  almost  all  wars  is  that  written 
by  the  victors.  The  beaten  foe  is  always  in  the 
wrong.  “  Whatever  is,  is  right.”  All,  save  the 
few  starry  spirits  of  mankind,  say  this. 


62 


BONNIE  SCOTLAND 


Sir  Walter  evidently  appreciated  these  phe¬ 
nomena.  Knowing  human  nature  well,  he  did  not 
hesitate  to  be  frank  about  his  own  forebears.  He 
made  of  the  old  scenes  of  slaughter  a  new  enchanted 
land,  into  which  one  can  now  travel  unarmed  and 
without  guards.  As  Roderick  Dhu  justified  to 
Fitz  James  the  profession  of  cattle-lifting,  which 
he,  like  his  ancestors,  followed,  so  Lockhart  tells 
that  when  the  last  bullock,  which  Auld  Watts 
had  provided  from  the  English  pastures,  was  con¬ 
sumed,  Mary  Scott,  the  flower  of  Yarrow,  placed 
on  her  table  a  dish  containing  a  pair  of  clean 
spurs.  This  was  a  hint  to  the  company  that  they 
must  bestir  themselves  for  their  next  dinner.  In 
those  days  when  the  rule  was  to  “  love  thy  neigh¬ 
bor  and  hate  thine  enemy”  (is  it  yet  repealed?) 
cattle-stealing  was  a  virtuous  occupation  just  as 
war  is,  and  will  be,  unless  the  United  States  of 
the  World  is  formed. 

By  1610  the  mounted  police  had  done  their 
work  so  well  that  the  borders  were  reported,  by 
King  James’s  commissioners,  to  be  as  peaceable 
and  quiet  as  any  part  of  any  civil  kingdom  in 
Christendom.  In  a  word,  the  pioneers  of  civiliza¬ 
tion,  on  either  side  of  the  frontier,  were  like  men 
who  blast  the  rocks,  fill  up  the  swamps,  and  grade 
the  prairies  and  canyons,  so  that  we  can  sleep  in 
the  berths  and  eat  in  the  dining-cars  of  the  “  Fly¬ 
ing  Scotchman”  or  the  “Overland  Limited.” 
Much  of  the  waste  land,  long  ago  reclaimed,  is 


A  Bl’.(  )TSFOUU 


I 


1 


li 

I 


J 

s 


i 


RAMBLES  ALONG  THE  BORDER 


63 


now  covered  with  the  gardens,  fertile  fields,  and 
fair  homes  of  ladies,  gentlemen,  and  Christians. 
After  the  enormous  mineral  wealth  of  this  region 
had  been  exploited,  moss  troopers  and  cattle- 
thieves  were  as  much  out  of  place  as  are  the  cow¬ 
boys  —  except  on  the  stage,  which  is  an  indestruct¬ 
ible  museum  of  antiquities. 

Certainly,  for  the  literary  enjoyment  of  suc¬ 
ceeding  centuries,  it  was  a  good  thing  that  the 
memorials  of  this  period  of  turbulence  were  ulti¬ 
mately  transformed,  by  the  relieved  people,  into 
material  for  legend  and  song ;  yes,  even  so  that 
Scott  could  build  Abbotsford  without  moat  or 
drawbridge.  The  poetry  of  the  situation  is  vastly 
more  enjoyable  to-day  than  was  the  prose  of  real¬ 
ity  during  several  centuries.  In  like  manner,  we, 
who,  in  our  upholstered  chairs,  with  our  feet 
against  the  fender  of  the  winter  fire-grate,  delight 
in  and  admire  the  red  Iroquois  in  Cooper’s  novels, 
necessarily  take  a  different  view  of  the  whole  In¬ 
dian  “  problem  ”  than  could  our  ancestors,  so 
many  of  whose  scalps  adorned  the  walls  of  the 
Long  House  of  the  Forest  Republic. 

In  our  annals  the  name  of  General  John  Sulli¬ 
van  as  one  who  avenged  the  destruction  of  the 
Scotch  settlements  on  the  Susquehanna,  and 
opened  for  our  fathers  the  westward  paths  of 
civilization,  must  go  down  to  history  with  the 
same  halo  of  fame  as  that  which  surrounds  Sir 
William  Cranstoun  and  his  little  company  of 


64 


BONNIE  SCOTLAND 


moss  troopers  of  the  new  sort.  Moreover,  when 
the  white  man  is  no  longer  busy  in  depositing 
lead  inside  the  redskin’s  cuticle,  while  the  copper- 
colored  savage  ceases  to  raise  the  hair  of  his  affec¬ 
tionate  white  brother,  there  is  a  better  common 
understanding  of  one  another’s  psychology,  be¬ 
sides  more  room  for  mutual  appreciation.  Verily, 
history  fills  with  its  oil  the  fragrant  lamp  of  liter¬ 
ature  that  illuminates  while  it  charms. 


CHAPTER  VII 

I  THE  LAY  OF  THE  LAND:  DUNFERMLINE 

How  many  people,  in  their  inmost  souls,  wish 
to  be  considered  prophets !  Andrew  Lang,  in  his 
“History  of  Scotland,”  calls  attention  to  that 
“  wisdom  after  the  event,”  which  is  so  often  ex¬ 
hibited,  not  only  by  the  commonplace  person,  who 
loves  to  be  an  incarnate  “  I  told  you  so,”  but  even 
by  those  who  pose  as  genuine  prophets.  To  such, 
the  map  of  Scotland  seems  in  part  a  foreshadow¬ 
ing  of  her  history.  One  thinks  of  the  Highlands 
as  an  extension  northeastwardly  of  the  older  Sco¬ 
tia,  or  Ireland,  or  as  but  the  island  itself  moved 
diagonally  or  in  the  direction  named.  Draw  a  line 
reaching  from  Dumbarton,  on  the  Clyde,  to  Stone¬ 
haven,  on  the  German  Ocean,  and  you  have,  on  the 
north  and  west,  Celtic  Scotland.  Here,  for  the 
most  part,  are  ranges  of  mountains,  lines  of  hills, 
and  the  great  waterway  from  southwest  to  north¬ 
east.  In  the  extreme  north,  however,  in  Suther¬ 
land  and  Caithness,  both  upraised  land  and  flow¬ 
ing  water  seem,  for  the  most  part,  to  run  from 
south  to  north. 

In  other  words,  one  would  suppose  from  the 
map  that  the  people  dwelling  on  the  rather  flat 
lowlands  would  be  of  one  race  and  with  one  kind 


66 


BONNIE  SCOTLAND 


of  civilization,  while  the  inhabitants  of  the  hills 
would  greatly  differ.  In  the  Highlands,  defence 
would  be  easy  and  offence  would  be  hard,  strong¬ 
holds  would  be  more  numerous,  general  communi¬ 
cation  impracticable,  social  improvement  slow,  and 
common  feeling  with  the  Lowlanders  be  a  long 
time  coming.  The  Celtic  clansmen  of  the  hills, 
usually  living  and  dying  in  the  same  glen,  were  not 
famed  as  travellers.  “  All  travel  has  its  advan¬ 
tages,”  says  Dr.  Johnson.  “  If  the  passenger  visits 
better  countries,  he  may  learn  to  improve  his  own, 
and  if  fortime  carries  him  to  worse,  he  may  learn 
to  enjoy  it.”  So  wrote  Dr.  Samuel  Johnson,  in  his 
“Journey  to  the  Western  Islands  of  Scotland.” 
That  famous  book  gave  most  Englishmen  their  first 
idea  of  the  region  which  is  now  a  summer  annex 
to  England  —  enormous  tracts  of  the  Highlands 
being  in  latter  days  the  property  of  English  land¬ 
lords. 

Yet,  while  it  is  true  that  the  map  might  lead  an 
observer  to  anticipate  that  the  later  comers,  of 
Germanic  race  and  speech,  would  dispossess  the 
Celts  and  form  a  kingdom  separate  from  and  hos¬ 
tile  to  theirs,  —  with  no  union  until  six  hundred 
years  had  passed  by,  —  we  may  ask  another  ques¬ 
tion.  What  is  there,  in  Scottish  topography,  that 
would  be  a  prophecy  of  the  northern  half  of  the 
British  Isles  separating  into  a  Scottish  nation 
apart  from  England  ? 

We  may  answer,  without  fear,  that  it  was  not 


THE  LAY  OF  THE  LAND:  DUNFERMLINE  67 


natural  features  or  climate,  but  historical  events, 
that  made  two  peoples,  instead  of  one.  These 
events  could  not  he  foreseen  by  a  mere  student  of 
the  topography.  Even  though  the  men  of  both 
realms  spoke  the  same  language  and  were  of  the 
same  blood,  originally,  there  issued  an  English  and 
a  Scottish  nation,  which  again  had  two  stories  of 
development.  The  Highlands  have  a  third,  their 
own  story,  —  usually  of  isolated  combats  and  clan 
feuds,  —  with  only  the  slow  infiltration  of  ideas 
that  in  time  made  a  united  island,  bringing  the 
men  of  the  glens  in  contact  with  the  rest  of  Eu¬ 
rope. 

The  chief  scene  of  Scottish  history,  with  its  art, 
architecture,  commercial  prosperity,  and  general 
likeness  to  Christendom,  is  in  the  Lowlands.  Here 
are  almost  all  her  great  cities,  industries,  and 
monuments.  In  this  region,  and  not  in  the  High¬ 
lands,  Scotland’s  two  greatest,  or  at  least  most 
famous,  men  were  born  and  reared,  and  here  are 
the  cities,  which  are  “  the  hope  of  democracy.”  In 
fact,  the  Celtic  Scots  never  produced  a  distinct 
civilization  of  their  own.  The  Celts,  with  all  their 
charming  traits  and  bold  achievements,  have  no¬ 
where  brought  to  perfection  this  composite  flower 
of  history. 

For  purposes  of  research  in  libraries,  enjoyment 
in  rambles  from  a  convenient  centre,  and  for  the 
study  of  all  classes  of  the  people  in  town  and  coun¬ 
try,  on  moors  and  by  the  sea,  we  chose  Dundee  as 


68 


BONNIE  SCOTLAND 


tlie  seat  of  our  summer  sojourns,  seven  in  number 
from  1891  to  1913.  There  in  Scottish  homes  and 
with  companions  in  plenty,  both  native  and  im¬ 
ported,  for  picnics,  tramps,  river  excursions,  and 
historical  explorations,  near  and  far,  whether  on 
foot,  awheel,  by  horse,  boat,  or  motor-car,  our 
memories  focus  on  “  Scotia’s  grandeur,”  as  well  as 
on  “  homely  joys  and  destiny  obscure,”  and,  not 
least,  on  personal  delights. 

Before  reaching  Dundee,  the  American  in  Scot¬ 
land  must  visit  the  ancient  capital  of  her  kings, 
Dunfermline,  which  is  on  the  road  thither.  Birth¬ 
place  of  “  the  librarian  of  the  universe,”  Andrew 
Carnegie,  and  enriched  by  him  with  munificent 
gifts,  from  money  made  in  the  United  States,  we 
shall  by  visiting  Dunfermline  pay  our  respects  to 
Scotland’s  ancient  glories  while  renewing  home 
memories. 

The  city  lies  in  the  “  ancient  kingdom  ”  and 
modern  County  of  Fife,  probably  of  all  Scottish 
shires  the  richest  in  striking  monastic,  feudal,  and 
palatial  ruins.  Within  its  borders  are  Roman, 
Celtic,  and  early  Christian  and  mediaeval  remains. 
Its  name  has  no  relation  to  a  musical  instrument, 
although  the  screaming  tube  of  military  associa¬ 
tion,  comrade  of  the  drum,  seems  an  appropriate 
symbol  for  a  region  so  long  identified  with  war. 
The  Tay  and  the  Leven  Rivers,  within  its  borders, 
are  famous  in  song  and  story,  and  within  the 
bounds  of  Fife  lie  Cupar,  St.  Andrew’s,  Dunferm- 


THE  LAY  OF  THE  LAND  :  DUNFERMLINE  69 


line,  Falkland,  Lindores,  Kirkcaldy,  Burntisland, 
Crail,  and  Dysart,  all  of  historical  interest. 

One  who  is  curious  to  get  at  the  linguistic  se¬ 
crets  locked  up  in  Scottish  names  calls  in  the  aid 
of  the  Celtic  scholar  and  learns  that  the  word, 
“  Dunfermline,”  when  dissected,  yields  the  mean¬ 
ing,  “The  Castle  of  the  Winding  Stream,”  or, 
more  precisely,  “  The  Fort  on  the  Crooked  Linn,” 
the  latter  word  meaning  a  waterfall  between  two 
rocks.  When,  however,  we  search  into  the  origin 
of  Fife,  the  county’s  name,  we  find  it  to  be  of 
Frisian  origin ;  that  is,  only  another  form  of 
“  Fibh,”  which,  in  Jutland,  means  “forest.”  In 
the  fourth  century,  when  the  folk  from  the  Con¬ 
tinent  were  crossing  the  German  Ocean  and  set¬ 
tling  on  the  island,  they  gave  the  newfound  woody 
land  a  descriptive  name  true  to  the  facts. 

Situated  three  miles  from  the  water  and  rising 
above  the  level  of  the  Firth,  upon  a  long  swelling 
ridge,  Dunfermline  is  an  imposing  place.  Here,  in 
1070,  King  Malcolm  Canmore  founded  an  abbey 
for  the  Benedictine  monks,  whom  his  English 
Queen  Margaret  had  brought  from  Canterbury. 
Dunferndine  brings  up  many  memories  of  this 
noble  queen,  to  whose  influence,  greater  probably 
than  that  of  any  other  one  person,  Bonnie  Scot¬ 
land  owes  so  much  of  its  civilization. 

In  a  sense,  the  town,  though  showing  little  of 
royal  grandeur,  contains  Scotland’s  Westminster 
Abbey.  Dunfermline  Abbey,  besides  being  one  of 


70 


BONNIE  SCOTLAND 


the  most  important  remains  in  Scotland,  has,  ex¬ 
cept  Iona,  received  more  of  Scotland’s  royal  dead 
than  any  other  place  in  the  kingdom.  Not  only 
were  the  sovereigns  David,  James,  and  Charles 
born  within  the  old  castle  walls,  but  here  rest  the 
bodies  of  Malcolm  Canmore,  Queen  Margaret,  Ed¬ 
gar,  Alexander  I,  David  I,  Malcolm  the  Maiden, 
Alexander  III,  Robert  the  Bruce,  his  queen  Eliza¬ 
beth  and  his  nephew  Randolph,  Anabella,  queen  of 
Robert  III,  and  Robert,  Duke  of  Albany. 

Who  has  not  read  how  Robert  Burns  knelt 
down  and  kissed,  with  a  poet’s  fervor,  the  broad 
flagstone  over  the  grave  of  Robert  the  Bruce  ? 
What  boy  has  not  spoken  the  piece,  “  Scots  whom 
Bruce  has  often  led”?  In  1821  when  building 
the  new  modern  edifice,  they  opened  the  tomb  of 
Robert  the  Bruce  and  found  his  skeleton  entire. 
The  evidence  of  its  being  his  consisted  mainly  in 
the  fact  that  the  breastbone  was  sawn  asunder,  in 
order  to  reach  the  heart,  which  had  been  ex¬ 
tracted.  The  remains  were  re-interred  with  fitting 
pomp  below  the  pulpit  of  the  new  church.  In 
1891,  to  bestow  more  honor  on  Scotland’s  hero, 
the  pulpit  was  moved  back  and  a  monumental  brass 
inserted  in  the  floor  to  indicate  the  royal  vault. 
The  tomb  of  St.  Margaret  and  Malcolm,  which 
was  within  the  ruined  walls  of  the  Lady  chapel, 
was  restored  and  enclosed  at  the  command  of 
Queen  Victoria.  The  nave  of  the  abbey  church 
was  of  noble  proportions,  but  of  the  abbey  itself, 


THE  MOXASTERV,  Dl’XFERMLINE  ABBEY 


THE  LAY  OF  THE  LAND:  DUNFERMLINE  71 


only  portions  of  the  refectory,  tower,  and  arched 
gateway  remain.  The  devastating  reformers  of 
March,  1560,  spared  the  nave,  which  served  as  a 
parish  house  of  worship  until  the  nineteenth  cen¬ 
tury.  Now  it  forms  the  vestibule  of  the  new 
edifice. 

Another  interesting  ruin  is  part  of  the  palace 
of  the  Stuart  kings,  overhanging  the  romantic 
glen  of  Pittencrief.  It  is  a  noble  wreck,  showing 
massive  flying  buttresses.  The  last  royal  tenant 
of  the  palace  was  Charles  II,  who  occupied  it  just 
before  marching  south  to  the  battle  and  rout  of 
Worcester  in  1651.  Within  its  walls  also  he 
signed  the  National  League  and  Covenant. 

Dunfermline  has  a  long  ecclesiastical  history. 
The  first  settlers  in  this  place,  who  brought  news 
of  an  unseen  world,  other  than  that  inhabited  by 
those  who  sought  the  Eternal  through  the  Druids, 
were  the  Culdees.  Then  followed  the  Celtic,  An¬ 
glican,  and  modern  forms  of  religion.  In  Dun¬ 
fermline  arose  also  the  modern  Dissenters,  Ralph 
Erskine  and  Thomas  Gillespie,  who  added  a  new 
variety  of  Presb3rterianism  to  the  many  forms  al¬ 
ready  existing,  though  the  religious  bodies  which 
they  founded  are  now  one,  under  the  name  of 
“  United  Presbyterians,”  whose  influence,  in  both 
Scotland  and  America,  has  been  so  notable. 

In  one  sense,  Andrew  Carnegie,  “  the  star- 
spangled  Scotchman,”  is  the  most  celebrated  of 
all  Dunfermline’s  sons,  as  he  is  certainly  her 


72 


BONNIE  SCOTLAND 


greatest  benefactor.  He  gave  to  his  birthplace  its 
Free  Library,  its  public  baths,  and  the  estate  of 
Pittencrief  Park  and  Glen,  together  with  bonds 
yielding  fl00,000  a  year,  in  trust,  for  the  main¬ 
tenance  of  the  park,  a  theatre,  the  promotion  of 
horticulture  among  the  working  classes,  periodical 
exhibitions  of  works  of  art  and  science,  and  the 
encouragement  of  technical  education  in  the  dis¬ 
trict. 

The  visiting  American  feels  proud  that  this 
once  poor  Scottish  boy,  without  favor,  rank,  pa¬ 
trons,  or  special  opportunities,  having  amassed  his 
wealth  in  the  United  States,  has  used  it  so  gen¬ 
erously  all  over  the  world  —  a  type  of  America’s 
mission.  I  have  seen  and  met  Mr.  Carnegie  on 
many  occasions,  at  public  dinners,  as  guest  of 
honor,  or  presiding  at  famous  celebrations,  notably 
when  the  double  centenary  of  the  birth  of  Benja¬ 
min  Franklin  was  celebrated  by  the  Pennsylvania 
University,  in  Witherspoon  Hall,  in  Philadelphia. 
I  remember  that,  in  bestowing  upon  a  lady  recipi¬ 
ent  of  a  learned  degree  her  diploma,  he  nearly 
demolished  her  chignon.  Nevertheless,  the  canny 
Scot  seemed  greater  in  redeeming  his  fault  than 
even  in  doing  successfully  mightier  things  —  the 
mark  of  a  master  of  men.  One  of  the  strongest 
points  in  the  career  of  the  bonnie  ironmaster  has 
ever  been  his  power  to  neutralize  the  possible  evil 
effects  of  an  error,  whether  that  were  a  downright 
blunder  or  a  mistake  in  judgment.  No  one  is 


THE  LAY  OF  THE  LAND:  DUNFERMLINE  73 

more  fertile  in  those  resources,  which  negative 
what  might,  with  an  ordinary  man,  become  a 
calamity. 

I  last  met  this  optimist  at  Cornell  University, 
to  which  he  had  come  to  see  and  hear  the  grand 
organ  in  Bailey  Hall,  which  he,  through  Dr.  An¬ 
drew  D.  White,  had  presented  to  the  New  York 
State  College  of  Agriculture.  The  gates  of  hell 
had  already  been  opened  beyond  sea,  and  inter¬ 
national  insanity  —  the  chronic  disease  of  Europe 
—  was  covering  the  plains  of  Belgium  with  blood 
and  corpses.  I  asked  Mr.  Carnegie  whether  he 
was  not  discouraged,  since,  after  all  these  years 
of  his  working  diligently  for  peace,  war  had  again 
broken  out.  “  Discouraged  ?  ”  said  he,  with  vehe¬ 
mence.  “  Don’t  know  the  meaning  of  the  word.” 
Long  live  Andrew,  with  his  incorrigible  and  in¬ 
vincible  optimism ! 

In  this  historic  city  my  thoughts  were  mostly 
of  Queen  Margaret,  the  gentle  conqueror  of  the 
Scottish  people,  and  one  of  the  greatest  of  all 
women  born  in  Britain.  When,  after  the  battle 
of  Hastings  in  1066,  the  Saxon  King  Edgar  fled 
into  Scotland,  with  his  two  sisters.  King  Malcolm 
Canmore  took  Margaret,  styled  “  the  Beautiful,” 
for  his  wife,  and  was  wedded  at  Dunfermline. 
Her  husband,  in  1093,  refusing  to  be  a  vassal  of 
the  South,  and  indignant  at  his  reception  by  Rufus 
at  Gloucester,  returned  home.  He  then  invaded 
England,  only  to  be  met  and  slain,  together  with 


74 


BONNIE  SCOTLAND 


his  son,  at  Alnwick.  This  double  blow,  coming  in 
a  moment  of  ill  health,  was  too  much  for  Mar¬ 
garet,  and  she  died  in  Edinburgh  Castle.  In  the 
violence  of  the  times,  when  Celt  and  Saxon  were 
ever  at  war,  her  body  may  have  been  in  danger 
of  outrage.  So  her  corpse  was  quietly  conveyed, 
by  way  of  the  West  Port  of  the  then  walled  city, 
under  cover  of  a  mist,  and  without  ceremony  was 
removed  to  Dunfermline. 

One  sometimes  wonders  why  the  history  of  Ire¬ 
land  and  of  Scotland,  especially  in  their  relations 
to  the  larger  island,  England,  are  so  different, 
notwithstanding  that  the  same  race  of  men  so 
largely  peopled  the  two  countries.  Yet,  if  we  look 
down  the  long  perspective  of  the  centuries,  we  see 
how  the  political  winds,  which  were  so  harsh  to 
Ireland,  were  so  tempered  to  Scotland. 

In  “  the  Pope’s  Green  Isle,”  nearly  all  the 
changes  that  have  been  wrought  by  the  English 
or  Normans  came  in  the  wake  of  conquest  and 
the  sword ;  whereas  in  Scotland,  the  new  ideas 
and  institutions  introduced  by  the  Anglo-Nor¬ 
mans  entered  slowly  by  infiltration.  The  potency 
of  initial  changes,  in  the  one  case,  was  that  of 
man  ;  in  the  other,  of  woman.  It  was  an  English 
queen,  with  her  English  children,  who  wrought 
gently  but  surely  the  reforms  which  brought  Scot¬ 
land  in  harmony  with  the  civilization  of  Europe. 
Queen  Margaret’s  life  was  one  long  ministry  of 
reconciliation  of  Celt  and  Saxon  mainly  in  direct 


THE  LAY  OF  THE  LAND:  DUNFERMLINE  75 

service  of  her  people,  through  religion,  in  both 
theory  and  practice.  She  was  a  saint  in  reality  as 
well  as  by  canon. 

In  Ireland,  even  in  the  Church,  there  were,  be¬ 
side  a  heritage  of  hate,  a  Celtic  and  an  Anglo- 
Norman  party  always  at  one  another’s  throats  or 
reputations.  From  such  legacies  of  bitterness  Scot¬ 
land  was  happy  enough  to  escape  because  it  was 
through  a  wise  woman’s  wit  and  tact  that  the  in¬ 
itial  changes  were  gently  and  gradually  made.  It 
is  no  wonder  that  the  Scots,  as  well  as  the  office 
of  canonization,  call  her  “  Saint  ”  Margaret. 


CHAPTEK  VIII 

DUNDEE:  THE  GIFT  OF  GOD 

When  we  look  into  the  name  “Dundee,”  we 
find  that  some  derive  it  from  the  Latin  “  Donum 
Dei  ”  (the  “  gift  of  God  ”).  Evidently  those  who 
designed  the  town  arms  accepted  this  etymology, 
for  above  the  two  griffins  holding  a  shield  is  the 
motto  “  Dei  Donum.”  Yet  beneath  their  inter¬ 
twined  and  forked  tails  is  the  more  cautious 
motto,  perhaps  meant  to  be  regulative,  —  for 
“  sweet  are  the  uses  of  adversity,”  in  learning 
as  in  life,  —  “  prudentia  et  candore.”  While  pru¬ 
dence  bids  us  look  forward,  candor  requires  hon¬ 
esty  as  to  the  past.  So  the  diligent  scholarship 
and  editorial  energy  of  modern  days  delete  the 
claims  of  local  pride,  as  belated,  and  declare  them 
“  extravagant,”  while  asserting  that  so  favorable 
a  situation  for  defence  as  has  Dundee  antedates 
even  the  Homan  occupation. 

Others,  not  willing  to  abandon  the  legend  savor¬ 
ing  of  divinity,  find  the  name  in  the  Celtic  “  Dun 
Dha,”  the  “  Hill  of  God.”  The  probabilities  are, 
however,  that  Mars  will  carry  off  the  honors,  and 
that  the  modern  form  is  from  the  Gaelic  name  “  Dun 
Tow,”  that  is,  the  “  fort  on  the  Tay  ”  ;  of  which 
the  Latin  “  Tao  Dunum  ”  is  only  a  translitera- 


DUNDEE:  THE  GIFT  OF  GOD 


77 


tion.  All  Britain  was  spotted  with  forts  or  duns, 
and  the  same  word  is  in  the  second  syllable  of 
“  London.” 

The  name  “  Dundee  ”  first  occurs  in  writing  in 
a  deed  of  gift,  dated  about  a.d.  1200,  by  David, 
the  younger  brother  of  William  the  Lion,  making 
the  place  a  royal  burg.  Later  it  received  charters 
from  Robert  the  Bruce  and  the  Scottish  kings. 
Charles  I  finally  granted  the  city  its  great  char¬ 
ter. 

In  the  war  of  independence,  when  the  Scots 
took  up  arms  against  England,  Dundee  was  prom¬ 
inent.  William  Wallace,  educated  here,  slew  the 
son  of  the  English  constable  in  1291,  for  which 
deed  he  was  outlawed.  The  castle,  which  stood  un- 
til  some  time  after  the  Commonwealth,  but  of  which 
there  is  to-day  hardly  a  trace,  was  repeatedly  be¬ 
sieged  and  captured.  In  Dundee’s  coat  of  arms 
are  two  “  wyverns,”  griffins,  or  “dragons,”  with 
wings  addorsed  and  with  barbed  tails,  the  latter 
“  nowed  ”  or  knotted  together  —  which  things 
serve  as  an  allegory.  In  the  local  conversation 
and  allusions  and  in  the  modern  newspaper  car¬ 
toons  and  caricatures,  the  “  wyverns  ”  stand  for 
municipal  affairs  and  local  politics. 

Such  a  well-situated  port,  on  Scotland’s  largest 
river,  Tay,  must  needs  be  the  perennial  prize  of  con¬ 
tending  factious  and  leaders.  But  when,  after  having 
assimilated  the  culture  of  Rome,  the  new  struggle, 
which  was  inevitable  to  human  progress,  the  Ref- 


78 


BONNIE  SCOTLAND 


ormation,  began,  and  the  Scots  thought  out  their 
own  philosophy  of  the  universe,  Dundee  was  called 
“  the  Scottish  Geneva,”  because  so  active  in  spread¬ 
ing  the  new  doctrines.  Here,  especially,  Scotland’s 
champion,  George  Wishart,  student  and  school¬ 
master  (1513-46),  one  of  the  earliest  reformers, 
introduced  the  study  of  Greek  and  preached  the 
Reformation  doctrines.  Compelled  to  flee  to  Eng¬ 
land,  he  went  also  to  Switzerland.  In  Cambridge, 
he  was  a  student  in  1538.  It  is  not  known  that  he 
ever  “  took  orders,”  any  more  than  did  the  apostle 
Paul.  He  travelled  from  town  to  town,  making 
everywhere  a  great  impression  by  his  stirring  ap¬ 
peals. 

Instead  of  bearing  the  fiery  cross  of  the  clans 
as  of  old,  Wishart  held  up  the  cross  of  his  Master. 

Patriotism  and  economics,  as  well  as  religion, 
were  factors  in  the  clash  of  ideas.  Cardinal  Beaton 
stood  for  ecclesiastical  dependence  on  France, 
Wishart  for  independence.  Beaton  headed  sol¬ 
diers  to  make  Wishart  prisoner.  Young  John 
Knox  attached  himself  to  the  person  of  the  bold 
reformer  and  carried  a  two-handed  sword  before 
Wishart  for  his  defence.  After  preaching  a  power¬ 
ful  sermon  at  Haddington,  the  evangelist  was  made 
a  prisoner  by  the  Earl  of  Bothwell  and  carried  to 
St.  Andrew’s.  There,  at  the  age  of  thirty-three, 
by  the  cardinal’s  order,  Wishart  was  burned  at 
the  stake  in  front  of  the  castle,  then  the  residence 
of  the  bishop.  While  the  fire  was  kindling.  Wish- 


DUNDEE:  THE  GIFT  OF  GOD 


79 


art  uttered  the  prophecy  that,  within  a  few  days 
his  judge  and  murderer  would  lose  his  life.  After 
such  proceedings  in  the  name  of  God,  it  seems  hardly 
wonderful  that  the  mob,  which  had  teen  stirred  by 
Wishart’s  preaching,  should  have  destroyed  both 
the  cathedral  and  the  episcopal  mansion. 

Was  Wishart  in  the  plot  to  assassinate  the  car¬ 
dinal,  as  hostile  critics  suggest  ?  Over  his  ashes  a 
tremendous  controversy  has  arisen,  and  this  is  one 
of  the  unsettled  questions  in  Scottish  history. 
There  was  another  George  Wishart,  bailie  of  Dun¬ 
dee,  who  was  in  the  plot.  Certainly  the  preacher’s 
name  is  great  in  Scotland’s  history. 

One  of  the  relics  of  bygone  days,  which  the 
Dundeeans  keep  in  repair,  is  a  section  of  the  old 
battlemented  city  wall  crossing  one  of  the  impor¬ 
tant  streets.  This  for  a  time  was  the  pulpit  of  the 
great  reformer.  With  mine  host  of  the  Temperance 
Hotel,  Bailie  Mather,  who  took  me,  as  other  anti¬ 
quarians,  poets,  and  scholars  did  also,  through  the 
old  alleys  and  streets,  where  the  vestiges  of  historic 
architecture  still  remain  from  the  past,  I  mounted 
this  old  citadel  of  freedom. 

On  the  whole,  the  Reformation  in  Dundee  was 
peacefully  carried  out,  but  in  1645,  during  the 
Civil  War,  the  city  was  sacked  and  most  of  its 
houses  went  down  in  war  fires.  In  1651,  General 
Monk,  sent  by  Cromwell,  captured  Dundee,  and 
probably  one  sixth  of  the  garrison  were  put  to  the 
sword.  Sixty  vessels  were  loaded  with  plunder  to 


80 


BONNIE  SCOTLAND 


be  sent  away,  but  “  the  sailors  being  apparently  as 
drunk  as  the  soldiery  ”  the  vessels  were  lost  within 
sight  of  the  city.  “  Ill  got,  soon  lost,”  said  Monk’s 
chaplain.  Governor  Lumsden,  in  heroic  defence, 
made  his  last  stand  in  the  old  tower,  which  still 
remains  scarred  and  pitted  with  bullet  marks. 

Dundee  rose  to  wealth  during  our  Civil  War, 
when  jute  took  the  place  of  cotton.  Being  a  place 
of  commerce  rather  than  of  art,  literature,  or  ro¬ 
mance,  and  touching  the  national  history  only  at 
long  intervals,  few  tourists  see  or  stay  long  in 
“  Jute-opolis.”  Nevertheless,  from  many  visits 
and  long  dwelling  in  the  city  and  suburbs,  Dun¬ 
dee  is  a  place  dearly  loved  by  us  three ;  for  here, 
in  health  and  in  sickness,  in  the  homes  of  the  hos¬ 
pitable  people  and  as  leader  of  the  worship  of  thou¬ 
sands,  in  the  great  W ard  Chapel,  where  he  often 
faced  over  a  thousand  interested  hearers,  the  writer 
learned  to  know  the  mind  of  the  Scottish  people 
more  intimately  than  in  any  other  city.  Nor  could 
he,  in  any  other  better  way,  know  the  heart  of 
Scotland,  except  possibly  in  some  of  those  exalted 
moments,  when  surveying  unique  scenery,  it  seemed 
as  if  he  were  in  the  very  penetralia  of  the  land’s 
beauty ;  or,  when  delving  in  books,  he  saw  unroll 
clearly  the  long  panorama  of  her  inspiring  history. 

Among  the  treasures,  visible  in  the  muniment 
room  of  the  Town  House,  are  original  despatches 
from  Edward  I  and  Edward  II ;  the  original  char¬ 
ter,  dated  1327,  and  given  the  city  by  Robert  the 


DUNDEE:  THE  GIFT  OF  GOD 


81 


Bruce ;  a  Papal  order  from  Leo  X,  and  a  letter 
from  Mary  Queen  of  Scots,  concerning  extra¬ 
mural  burials.  Then  the  “  yardis,  glk  sumtyme 
was  occupyit  by  ye  Gray  Cordelier  Freres  ”  (Fran¬ 
ciscan  Friars,  who  wore  the  gray  habit  and  girdle  of 
St.  Francis  of  Assisi)  as  an  orchard,  were  granted 
to  the  town  as  a  burying-place  by  Queen  Mary  in 
1564.  The  Nine  Crafts  having  wisely  decided  not 
to  meet  in  taverns  and  alehouses,  made  this  former 
place  of  fruit  their  meeting-place  ;  hence  the  name 
“  Howff,”  or  haunt.  My  rhyming  friend  Lee,  in 
his  verses  on  the  “  Waukrife  Wyverns  ”  (wakeful 
griffins),  has  written  the  feelings  and  experiences 
of  his  American  friend,  who  often  wandered  and 
mused  among  the  graven  stones,  as  well  as  his 
own  :  — 

“  ’T  was  Sabbath  nicht,  the  clinkum-bell 
Tauld  o’  harangues  on  heaven  and  hell  — 

I  read  a  sermon  to  mysel’ 

Frae  off  the  stones. 


Vast  naeeting-place  whaur  all  are  mute, 

For  dust  hath  ended  the  dispute; 

These  yards  are  fat  wl’  ither  fruit 
Than  when  the  friars 
Grew  apples  red  for  their  wine-presses  — 

And  stole  frae  ruddier  dames  caresses, 

Else  men  are  liars.” 

It  is  not  historical  to  call  or  think  of  Claver- 
house  himself  as  the  original  of  “  Bonnie  Dundee.” 
The  city  is  greater  than  the  man,  for  Sir  Walter 
Scott  borrowed  the  hint  for  his  refrain  from  an 


82 


BONNIE  SCOTLAND 


old  song  which  refers  solely  to  the  town.  Like  the 
phrases  “  William  the  Silent,”  “  Mad  Anthony 
Wayne,”  and  other  names  which  catch  the  pop¬ 
ular  ear,  the  whole  literary  line  of  suggestion  is 
posthumous  and  anachronistic.  Once  having  heard 
a  good  story,  “  the  public  ”  is  like  a  child  who 
wants  the  first  fairy  tale  to  be  told  over  and  over 
again,  in  exactly  the  same  phrase.  To  do  other¬ 
wise  offends  vanity  and  savors  of  that  very  dread¬ 
ful  “  higher  criticism  ”  which  is  so  terrible  to 
tradition-mongers. 

Wonderful  improvements  have  taken  place  in 
the  city  of  Dundee  since  I  first  saw  it,  in  the  early 
nineties,  when  the  place  was  full  of  things  unsa¬ 
vory  and  unsightly.  But  these  have  been  cleared 
away,  along  with  some  old  edifices  that  had  his¬ 
toric  associations,  such  as  the  castle,  the  mint,  and 
the  convents.  All  of  these  measures  of  abolition 
have  greatly  improved  the  public  health  and  the 
appearance  of  the  city. 

Some  old-time  Dundee  politics  were  amazingly 
similar  to  the  style  sufficiently  fashionable  in 
America  —  some  time  back.  The  local  poet  in  his 
“Wakeful  Griffins  ”  (the  “  Waukrife  Wyverns  ”) 
pictures  the  reality  as  the  two  of  them,  with  their 
knotted  tails,  “  hung  ower  the  wa’  ”  and  discussed 
municipal  affairs:  — 

“  O  lang  and  lang  I’ve  lookit  doon 
On  bonnie,  dirty  Dundee  toon, 

And  see  i’  council  knave  and  clown. 


DUNDEE:  THE  GIFT  OF  GOD 


83 


But  sic  a  crew 

O’  rowdy,  ranting,  roaring  fellows  — 

Sae  scant  o’  sense,  sae  sound  o’  bellows  — 

I  never  knew.” 

When,  further,  in  applying  the  city’s  motto  of 
prudence  and  candor,  one  of  the  tailed  mentors 
proposed  special  chastisement  of  a  notable  public 
sinner,  the  poet  cried  “  Hurrah  ” :  — 

“  At  once  there  came 
A  whir  o’  wings,  a  clash  o’  scales, 

An  awesome  wallopin’  o’  tails, 

A  flash  of  flame.” 

Then  the  tower  bell  boomed  the  hour  of  twelve. 

Seeing  Dundee  often  and  in  the  year  before  the 
Great  War,  we  noted  its  broad  thoroughfares 
adorned  with  flowers,  and  so  fuU  of  activity  and 
happy  bustle  by  day  and  brilliantly  lighted  by 
electricity  at  night,  we  made  favorable  compari¬ 
son  with  the  best  streets  of  Scotland’s  two  larger 
cities.  Since  Queen  Victoria’s  charter,  bestowed 
in  1889,  Dundee’s  chief  magistrate  has  been  des¬ 
ignated  as  the  “  Lord  Provost.” 

One  of  the  commonest  expressions  in  Scotland 
for  the  meadow  alongside  of  a  river  is  “  the  carse.” 
There  are  plenty  of  these  carses  in  the  valley  of 
the  Tay,  and  at  Dundee  “the  carse”  is  that  one, 
of  course,  which  is  near  the  city. 

“  The  Carse  of  Gowrie  ”  is  somewhat  over 
twenty  miles  long.  Four  miles  from  the  city  post- 
office,  over  the  carse,  is  the  village  of  Invergowrie, 


84 


BONNIE  SCOTLAND 


where  we  enter  Perthshire.  Here,  in  a  stately 
home,  we  spent  many  days.  We  cross  a  hum, 
which  runs  across  the  turnpike  road,  and  enter  a 
village  called  Milnefield  Feus,  the  water  making 
the  dividing-line  between  the  counties.  At  Inver- 
gowrie  we  see  “  the  Gows  of  Gowrie,”  the  Pad- 
dock  Stane,  and  the  quarries  of  Kingoodie,  with 
the  old  Dargie  church,  surrounded  by  an  ancient 
graveyard  near  the  shores  of  the  Tay  River.  Be¬ 
tween  the  kirkyard  and  the  railway  are  the 
“  Gows  ”  or  large  boulders,  famous  in  the  proph¬ 
ecy  of  Thomas  the  Rhymer :  — 

“  When  the  Gows  of  Gowrie  come  to  land 
The  day  of  judgment  is  near  at  hand.” 

Another  famous  rock  is  the  Deil’s  Stone,  con¬ 
cerning  which  there  is  a  legend  illustrating  the 
activity  of  His  Satanic  Majesty.  The  village  of 
Invergowrie  was  originally  named  the  Mylnefield 
Feus — a  relic  of  Scottish  feudalism. 

I  noticed  many  odd  features,  common  to  most 
old  Scottish  towns,  especially  those  with  markets, 
during  my  numerous  rambles  in  the  valley  of  the 
Tay.  Each  had  of  old  for  its  equipment,  suiting 
the  needs  of  the  times,  the  cross,  with  the  “  jougs  ” 
attached,  and  the  “  tron,”  or  weighing-machine 
used  for  securing  honest  weight  of  oatmeal  and 
other  produce  brought  to  the  market  for  sale. 
The  canny  Scot,  like  other  human  beings,  has  that 
proverbial  “  touch  of  nature,”  which  scale  and 


THE  VALEEV  OF  THE  TAY 


DUNDEE:  THE  GIFT  OF  GOD 


85 


measures  serve  partly  to  correct.  There  was  also 
a  penfold  for  impounding  stray  animals.  A  joug, 
as  one  might  guess,  from  the  Latin  “  jugum,”  was 
an  instrument  for  the  punishment  of  those  who 
were  already  stiff-necked  offenders.  It  is  probably 
the  original  of  our  slang  word  “jug,”  meaning  a 
prison.  An  iron  collar  enclosing  the  neck  of  the 
criminal,  which  was  fastened  to  a  wall,  tree,  or 
cross,  by  an  iron  chain,  was  the  chief  feature  and 
implement.  This  piece  of  public  jewelry  went  out 
of  use,  some  time  after  the  Reformation.  Often 
the  old  town  crosses,  when  broken,  dilapidated,  or 
removed,  are  rebuilt  as  public  ornaments  or  me¬ 
morials  of  the  past. 

Even  dragons  had  their  lairs  in  Scotland,  where 
the  behavior  of  these  monsters  seems  to  have  been 
the  same  as  that  noticed  in  their  kind  aU  over  the 
world.  Their  appetites,  for  example,  showed  a 
similar  eagerness  for  plump  maidens.  The  Japa¬ 
nese  and  Korean  stories  of  these  creatures,  which 
are  conceived  of  as  cosmic  forces  —  an  encyclo¬ 
paedia  of  aU  the  powers  of  offence  and  destruction 
with  which  nature  has  furnished  animals  —  inti¬ 
mate  that  their  digestion  was  much  improved  by 
a  diet  of  lovely  girls.  Now  at  Kinnoul  Hill,  not 
far  from  Dundee,  in  the  face  of  the  precipice,  is  a 
small  cave  popularly  called  “  The  Dragon’s  Hole.” 
Here  in  early  times  —  dragons  always  lived  in 
ancient  times  only  —  dwelt  a  scaly  monster,  who 
kept  the  country  in  continual  terror,  because  nei- 


86 


BONNIE  SCOTLAND 


ther  fisli  nor  cattle,  nor  old  women,  nor  indigesti¬ 
ble  males,  but  only  tender  virgins  suited  his  ali¬ 
mentary  canal.  It  was  when  they  were  young  and 
pretty  that  the  damsels  were  particularly  desirable 
and  digestible.  Dragging  them  off  to  his  den,  the 
monster  enjoyed  his  meals  with  the  leisure  of  a 
gentleman.  Yet,  however  pure  and  spiritually 
minded,  the  young  women  themselves  could  not 
break  the  spell  of  the  destroyer.  Only  holy  monks 
had  such  desirable  power.  One  shaveling  monk 
made  a  specialty  of  prayer  and  charms,  and  after 
a  terrible  conflict  slew  the  dragon  —  much  to  the 
relief  of  parents  who  had  charming  daughters. 

In  another  place  I  saw  an  artificial  ruin,  con¬ 
structed  about  a  century  ago,  but  now  so  com¬ 
pletely  overgrown  with  ivy  that  ages  seemed  to 
have  passed  over  it,  so  that  one  might  imagine 
that  romance  must  linger  in  its  stones.  When  first 
seeing  this  hoary  pile,  I  was  tempted  to  unfold 
the  pinions  of  fancy  and  imagination  for  a  long 
flight ;  when,  suddenly,  I  I’emembered  the  poem 
by  Eugene  Field.  He  tells  us,  in  his  mellifluous 
verse,  how  when  in  Amsterdam  of  the  Nether¬ 
lands,  he  saw  an  imposing  piece  of  furniture  which 
fired  his  imagination.  It  was  a  bedstead,  of  re¬ 
markably  feudalistic  and  baronial  suggestion. 
Field  pictured  to  himself  the  ancient  castle  in 
which  that  bedstead,  “seat  of  rapture,  seat  of 
pain,”  had  stood.  He  saw  in  perspective  of  fancy 
the  richly  robed  lords  and  ladies,  that  had  sought 


DUNDEE:  THE  GIFT  OF  GOD 


87 


repose  upon  it.  The  dreams  that  they  dreamed, 
in  the  days  of  falconry  and  cavalcades,  of  tour¬ 
naments  and  cloth  of  gold,  must  have  been  as 
brilliant  as  his  own.  Yet,  before  paying  the  pur¬ 
chase  price,  the  western  poet  glanced  at  the  back 
of  the  headboard  and  read  the  words,  “  Made 
in  Grand  Rapids,  Michigan.”  “  One  touch  of 
nature,”  etc. 


CHAPTER  IX 

THE  GLAMOUR  OF  MACBETH 

What  a  delightful  thing  it  is  to  be  first  en¬ 
thralled  with  a  drama,  romanee,  or  poem,  and  then 
to  enjoy  a  topographical  appendix,  in  the  form 
of  a  ramble  over  the  ground  —  where  it  never 
happened  ! 

In  Scotland  there  was  once  a  Macbeth  Mac- 
Finleigh,  King  of  Scotland  for  seventeen  years, 
stout  fighter,  patron  of  the  Culdees,  and  pilgrim  to 
Rome.  He  appears  to  have  had  all  the  accomplish¬ 
ments  of  royalty,  piety,  belligerency,  and  whatever 
seemed  necessary  for  an  eleventh-century  man  in 
power.  In  a  word,  he  was  in  harmony  with  his  age 
and  environment  and  did  what  was  expected  of 
him. 

Not  much  is  known  of  this  Macbeth,  but  details 
of  reality  are  never  necessary  to  literary  immor¬ 
tality.  Did  not  our  own  Irving,  out  of  three  lines 
and  a  half  of  record,  which  concerned  only  one 
passing  incident,  construct  the  colossal  figure  of 
Anthony  van  Corlear,  the  trumpeter  ?  And  are 
not  Anthony’s  Nose,  and  Spuyten  Duyvil,  on  the 
Hudson,  monumental  evidences,  in  rock  and  water, 
of  the  personality  of  the  handsome  fellow  who  broke 
the  hearts  of  both  Dutch  and  Yankee  maidens? 


THE  GLAMOUR  OF  MACBETH 


89 


Our  old  Dundee  friend,  Hector  Boece  (1465- 
1536),  of  King’s  College,  Aberdeen,  who  wrote 
that  lovely  work  of  fiction,  entitled  the  “History 
of  Scotland,”  incorporated  in  his  twelfth  book 
what  the  old  chronicler,  John  of  Fordun,  of  the 
century  before,  had  written  ;  but  with  liberal  deco¬ 
rations  and  embroideries.  Boece,  in  turn,  was  uti¬ 
lized  by  that  charming  rambler  through  the  past, 
Kaphael  Holinshed,  whose  illustrated  volumes,  as 
they  fell  from  the  press,  were  devoured  by  Shake¬ 
speare.  Boece’s  twelfth  book,  rich  in  fables,  inven¬ 
tions,  and  delightfully  baseless  anecdotes,  contains 
the  very  much  expanded  story  of  Macbeth.  Except 
the  murder  of  Duncan  and  the  probable  character 
of  Lady  Macbeth,  Shakespeare’s  drama  scarcely 
touches  history  at  more  than  two  or  three  points. 
Yet  all  that  a  genius,  like  the  bard  of  Avon,  needs, 
is  a  small  base-line  of  fact,  whence  to  describe 
meridians  of  the  immensities  and  infinities  from 
airy  nothings.  There  are  realities  of  truth  inde¬ 
pendent  of  place  or  time,  and  this  Shakespeare 
knew. 

Yet  as,  a  half-century  before  the  battle  of  Gettys¬ 
burg,  a  visiting  British  officer  saw  the  possibilities 
of  the  site,  and  exclaimed,  “  What  a  place  for  a 
battlefield,”  so,  fifty  years  or  more  before  Shake¬ 
speare  put  “  Macbeth  ”  ui3on  the  boards,  Buchanan 
had  already  pointed  out  the  fitness  of  the  legend 
for  the  stage. 

After  studying,  lecturing  upon,  seeing  “  Mac- 


90 


BONNIE  SCOTLAND 


beth  ”  played  by  great  actors,  and  meeting  all 
sorts  of  cranks  who  theorized  upon  it,  it  was  de¬ 
lightful,  with  some  lively  young  folks,  to  visit 
Glamis,  only  a  few  miles  from  Dundee  and  now 
one  of  the  finest  baronial  castles  in  Scotland.  Such 
an  imposing  mass  of  towers,  turrets,  domes,  and 
battlements !  Glamis  of  old  was  a  thanedom  and 
a  thane  was  an  hereditary  tenant  of  the  king ;  that 
is,  a  feudal  ruler.  Macbeth,  the  thane  of  Glamis, 
held  rank  as  earl.  Not  satisfied  with  even  so  high 
an  honor,  this  vassal,  Macbeth,  murdered  King 
Duncan  and  usurped  his  throne. 

Why  ?  Well,  the  chronicler  says,  “  but  specialie 
his  wife  lay  sore  upon  him  to  attempt  the  thing  as 
she  that  was  verie  ambitious,  burning  in  an  un¬ 
quenchable  desire  to  beare  the  name  of  a  queen.” 
Unwilling  to  trust  to  the  strength  of  the  feudal 
stronghold  of  Glamis,  this  picturesque  murderer 
of  kings  and  of  sleep,  after  the  ruin  wrought,  went 
westward  and  built  a  fortress  at  Dunslnane  Hill. 
He  knew  that  his  enemies,  old  and  new,  would 
soon  rise  up  against  him. 

These  were  the  days  when  most  of  the  early 
“kings”  of  Scotland  met  with  violent  deaths. 
Near  the  village  is  a  cairn  of  stones,  surrounding 
a  boulder,  which  is  called  “  Malcolm’s  gravestone,” 
and  is  supposed  to  mark  the  place  where  the  King 
Malcolm  II,  after  being  slain  by  assassins,  was 
buried.  His  father,  Malcolm  I,  who  reigned  from 
943  to  954,  had  been  killed  at  Stonehaven.  Mai- 


THE  GLAMOUR  OF  MACBETH  91 

colm  II,  his  son,  held  the  sceptre  from  1005  to 
1034. 

It  is  well  to  stop  awhile  at  Glamis  Castle,  not 
that  it  was  the  scene  of  the  murder  of  Duncan,  but 
it  has  plenty  of  fascinating  lore  of  its  own,  besides 
having  Macbeth  as  a  tenant. 

It  was  at  Glamis  Castle,  in  1745,  that  Bonnie 
Prince  Charlie  slept  on  one  night,  to  be  succeeded 
on  the  next  by  the  Duke  of  Cumberland,  who  oc¬ 
cupied  the  very  same  room.  The  housekeeper  con¬ 
ducts  the  visitor  over  the  historic  and  antique  por¬ 
tion  of  the  castle,  and  the  place  is  well  worth 
seeing,  for  it  makes  the  past  seem  very  real. 
Moreover,  though  such  sight-seeing  does  not  sup¬ 
ply  facts,  in  place  of  Shakespeare’s  creation,  it 
helps  to  the  enjoyment  of  the  truth  personified. 
We  may  delight  in  facts,  for  they  are  necessary  ; 
but  truth  is  more.  Whatever  the  facts  concern¬ 
ing  the  historical  Macbeth,  they  were  long  ago 
“  stranded  on  the  shore  of  the  oblivious  years.” 
They  were,  but  the  truth  was,  and  is,  and  is  to 
come.  Human  nature  is  the  one  thing  that  changes 
not,  and  that  eternal  element  Shakespeare  pic¬ 
tured. 

We  were  visiting  Dunkeld,  in  company  with  a 
party  of  pretty  maidens  and  rosy-cheeked  Scottish 
youth  from  Dundee,  seeing  its  cathedral,  ruins, 
waterfalls,  and  modern  products,  when  we  first 
realized  that  we  were  in  the  land  of  Macbeth.  Im¬ 
mediately,  aU  the  useful  and  statistical  data,  gath- 


92 


BONNIE  SCOTLAND 


ered  up  on  that  August  day,  and  even  the  fact 
that  Dunkeld,  now  having  fewer  than  a  thousand 
people,  was  once  a  bishopric,  seemed  to  fade  into 
insignificance  compared  with  the  value  and  im¬ 
portance  of  the  imaginary  —  the  world  outside  of 
history  and  of  science.  We  looked  southward  to 
see  Birnam  wood,  whose  trees  and  branches  were 
to  move  to  Dunsinane  in  the  Scotland  hills  and 
fulfil  the  sinister  prophecy  of  the  witches. 

Later  on,  we  found  comrades  for  a  walk  to 
Dunsinane  HiU,  which  is  only  twelve  miles  north¬ 
west  of  Dundee.  All  who  have  read  Shakespeare 
know  that  this  was  the  scene  of  the  closing  tragedy 
in  the  play  of  “Macbeth.”  We  pass  red-roofed 
cottages,  and  the  ruins  of  an  old  feudal  strong¬ 
hold.  It  is  a  square  tower,  having  walls  of  im¬ 
mense  thickness,  with  the  deep,  well-like  dungeon, 
cut  into  the  rock,  down  which  the  keeper  lowers 
for  you  a  lighted  candle.  In  place  of  the  old  arched 
floors,  which  added  strength  and  solidity  to  the 
tower  walls,  there  are  platforms  reached  by  stair¬ 
ways.  Ascending  to  the  top  of  the  tower  and 
emerging  by  a  doorway  to  the  bartizan  on  the  out¬ 
side,  we  have  a  most  magnificent  view  of  the  wide- 
spreading  valley  of  the  Tay,  with  its  manifold 
tokens  of  a  rich  civilization,  lying  like  a  panorama 
at  our  feet.  One  of  these  is  Kinaird  Castle,  which 
belonged  to  a  family  which,  having  taken  the 
wrong  side  in  the  uprising  of  1715,  had  their  lands 
forfeited. 


THE  GLAMOUR  OF  MACBETH 


93 


Leaving  this  mass  of  stone  behind  us,  we  pass 
on  to  the  upland  moors,  and  after  three  or  four 
miles  see  the  two  bold  hills,  the  King’s  Seat  and 
Dunsinane.  As  we  proceed,  we  find  several  old 
stones  which,  not  being  rolling,  have  gathered  on 
their  faces  a  rich  crop  of  the  moss  of  legend.  The 
southern  face  of  Dunsinane  Hill  is  sheer  and 
steep,  but  the  view  from  the  top  is  magnificent. 
Here  on  the  summit  we  can  barely  trace  the  foim- 
dations  of  the  second  castle  of  Macbeth,  which  he 
built  after  leaving  Glamis  and  to  which  he  re¬ 
tired.  Here  he  lived  in  the  hope  of  finding  security, 
the  witches  having  predicted  that  he  would  never 
be  conquered  until  “  Birnam  wood  came  to  Dun¬ 
sinane.”  Thinking  to  make  assurance  doubly  sure, 
he  compelled  the  nobles  and  their  retainers  to 
build  new  fortifications  for  him.  Men  and  oxen 
were  so  roughly  impressed  in  the  work  that  he 
made  enemies  of  old  friends  and  rupture  soon  oc¬ 
curred  between  him  and  Macduff. 

After  his  father’s  murder,  Malcolm  fled  to  Eng¬ 
land,  whence  a  powerful  army  was  sent  to  invade 
Scotland.  The  Scots  joined  the  standard  of  the 
young  prince  and  the  army  marched  northward 
unopposed  and  encamped  twelve  miles  away,  at 
Birnam,  under  the  shelter  of  a  forest,  which  then 
covered  the  hill,  but  is  now  no  more.  The  soldiers, 
each  one  having  cut  down  a  branch  of  a  tree,  — 
probably  not  with  any  knowledge  of  the  witch’s 
prophecy,  but  to  conceal  their  numbers,  —  made 


94 


BONNIE  SCOTLAND 


a  moving  mass  of  green.  Macbeth,  looking  out 
from  the  battlements  of  bis  castle,  beheld  what 
seemed  to  him  a  vast  forest  in  motion  across  the 
plain  to  overwhelm  him  with  destruction. 

Whatever  was  really  true  in  the  matter,  tradi¬ 
tion  has  adopted  the  element  of  poetical  justice  so 
often  illustrated  by  the  great  Shakespeare,  though 
some  reports  are  that  Macbeth  escaped  from  two 
battles  with  his  life  and  kept  up  a  guerilla  war¬ 
fare  in  the  north,  until  killed  in  a  conflict  in  Ab¬ 
erdeenshire.  In  another  Scottish  town,  we  were 
shown  a  school  which  stands  on  the  site  of  the  old 
castle  of  the  Macduffs,  the  Thanes  or  Earls  of 
Fife. 

The  touch  of  genius  has  made  the  name  of 
Macbeth  immortal.  He  is  known  wherever  the 
English  language  is  read  or  spoken.  How  differ¬ 
ent  is  the  fate  of  those  humbler  folk,  who  lie  in 
the  ooze  of  the  past,  unrecalled  by  poet  or  dram¬ 
atist  !  In  not  a  few  places  in  Scotland,  one  meets 
the  pathetic  sight  of  old  tombs  and  graveyards 
that  are,  in  some  instances,  hardly  visible  for  the 
greenery  that  covers  them.  Here  “the  rude  fore¬ 
fathers  of  the  hamlet  sleep,”  but  even  the  hamlet 
is  gone,  the  church  is  in  ruins,  and  the  descend¬ 
ants  of  those  who  once  lived  and  loved  and  died 
are  now  on  various  continents.  They  have  found 
other  homes,  and  most  of  them,  children  of  the 
new  lands,  only  vaguely  remember,  or  most  prob¬ 
ably  are  ignorant  of,  the  place  in  which  their  fore- 


TYPICAL  SCOTTISH  STREET:  HIGH  STREET,  DC.MI'RIES 


THE  GLAMOUR  OF  MACBETH 


95 


fathers  dwelt  and  whence  their  parents  or  grand¬ 
parents  came. 

Occasionally  one  meets  an  old  man  or  woman 
in  the  great  cities,  like  Glasgow  or  Dundee,  who 
wiU  tell  of  the  joys  remembered  or  glories  passed 
away,  naming  the  village,  perhaps  in  the  glens  or 
on  the  carses,  which  one  cannot  find  on  the  map, 
or  may  discover  only  by  consulting  some  old  gaz¬ 
etteer  in  the  libraries. 

To  me,  an  American,  these  white-haired  old 
folks  I  saluted  on  the  moors  and  in  the  glens,  re¬ 
called  the  words  of  our  own  Holmes,  and  espe¬ 
cially  that  stanza  which  President  Lincoln  thought 
the  most  pathetic  in  the  English  language :  — 

“  The  mossy  marbles  rest 
On  the  lips  that  he  has  prest 
In  their  bloom  ; 

And  the  names  he  loved  to  hear 
Have  been  carved  for  many  a  year 
On  the  tomb.” 

Yet  who  —  unless  a  Mark  Twain,  who  could 
drop  a  tear  over  Father  Adam’s  grave  —  will 
weep  over  the  long  departed  Piets  ?  More  often, 
while  reading  the  books,  rather  than  when  ram¬ 
bling  among  the  country  folk  in  Scotland,  do  we 
hear  of  these  shadowy  figures,  who  live  in  ethnol¬ 
ogy  rather  than  in  local  tradition. 

For  example,  what  became  of  the  “  Piets,”  who 
figure  so  largely  in  ancient  writings,  before  Pict- 
land  became  Scotland?  Old  legends  represent 


96 


BONNIE  SCOTLAND 


King  Kennetli  II,  who  died  in  995,  as  having 
“  exterminated  ”  the  Piets,  who  had  slain  his 
father.  Thus  these  aborigines  sank,  in  popular 
tradition,  to  mere  mythology.  A  Piet  now  seems 
but  as  a  nixie,  a  brownie,  or  some  sort  of  mythical, 
even  fairy  folk,  hardly  human,  to  whom  great 
feats,  including  even  the  building  of  Glasgow 
Cathedral,  are  attributed.  In  1814,  Sir  Walter 
Scott  met  a  dwarfish  traveller  in  the  Orkneys, 
whom  the  natives  regarded  as  a  “  Pecht  ”  or  Piet. 
So  says  Andrew  Lang.  The  Piets  have  been  so 
swallowed  up  in  oblivion  that  they  are  like  “the 
ten  lost  tribes  of  Israel  ”  —  who  never  were  “  lost  ” 
in  any  sense  but  that  of  absence  of  records,  and 
from  a  genealogical  point  of  view.  I  have  met  in¬ 
telligent  persons  who  thought  “  the  dead  cities  of 
the  Znyder  Zee  ”  —  so  denominated  by  Henri 
Havard  —  were  as  Pompeii  and  only  waiting  to  be 
excavated  and  come  to  resurrection  in  museums  I 
The  Piets  of  Scotland  are  exactly  where  the 
ancient  Ebisu  or  Ainu  of  Japan  are  —  in  the  veins 
of  the  people  now  called  the  Japanese.  The  de¬ 
scendants  of  the  Piets  to-day  talk  Scotch,  or  Eng¬ 
lish,  either  of  the  American  or  British  variety.  It 
is  no  more  fashionable  in  Scotland  to  trace  one’s 
lineage  to  Pictish  forebears,  than  in  Japan  to  the 
Ainu  or  Ebisu,  from  whom  millions  of  Japanese 
are  descended.  Who  wants  to  be  descended  from 
common  savages,  when  gods,  kings,  nobles,  and 
chiefs  are  as  plentiful  as  herring  or  blackberries  ? 


CHAPTER  X 

STIRLING:  CASTLE,  TOWN,  AND  TOWERS 

To  ride  in  fast  express  trains  from  town  to 
town,  across  the  Strathmore,  or  Great  Valley, 
containing  the  central  plain  of  Scotland,  on  which 
lies  almost  every  one  of  its  large  cities  and  indus¬ 
trial  centres,  makes  one  thrill  when  contrasting  the 
present  with  the  past.  Our  comrade,  Quandril,  so 
fresh  on  Scottish  soil  that  she  had  hardly  got  the 
ship’s  motion  out  of  her  head,  was  completely  daft, 
when  speeding  from  Edinburgh  to  Stirling.  So 
much  history,  visualized  and  made  real,  acted  like 
a  fierce  stimiUant.  The  cannonade  of  fresh  im¬ 
pressions,  at  every  moment,  added  still  further  to 
her  delightful  brain  disturbance. 

Here  are  two  entries  from  her  journal :  — 

“  I  am  delighted  with  Scotland.  As  I  realize 
that  I  am  on  Scottish  ground,  I  can  scarcely  under¬ 
stand  the  indifference  of  the  people,  who  walk  about 
as  if  it  were  nothing  remarkable.  .  .  .  Such  a  sight 
as  met  our  astonished  vision !  Never  had  our  New 
World  eyes  seen  anything  like  this  ancient  city.” 

In  riding  about  in  the  suburbs,  Quandril  gath¬ 
ered  some  wild  poppies.  She  noticed  that  every 
place  had  its  title  —  Lanark  Villa,  Rose  ViUa, 
Breezy  Brae,  etc.  In  several  places,  a  sign  was 


98 


BONNIE  SCOTLAND 


up  announcing  that  “  this  land  may  be  ‘  f  ued.’  ” 
The  person  who  rented  the  land,  using  it,  without 
receiving  a  title  in  fee  simple,  was  a  “feuar.” 

How  different  the  Scottish  landscape,  with  its 
myriad  chimneys,  from  the  feudal  days,  when  this 
French  invention  was  unknown  !  When  Scotland 
had  a  Robin  Hood,  in  the  person  of  Rob  Roy, 
this  feature  was  rare.  In  picturing  the  long-armed 
and  famous  cowboy,  cattle-dealer,  friend  of  the 
poor,  and  enemy  of  the  rich.  Sir  Walter  Scott 
has  told  of  the  desolate  character  of  the  tract  of 
country  stretching  from  the  Clyde  to  the  Gram¬ 
pians.  One  may  recall  how  the  young  English 
horsewoman,  whose  feelings  are  described  during 
the  tedious  ride  toward  the  adventurous  mountain- 
land,  found  a  willow  wand  before  the  door,  as  an 
emblem  that  the  place  was  tabooed.  At  one  town 
we  were  told  of  a  relic  —  the  coulter  of  a  plough 
—  kept  in  commemoration  of  the  event,  which 
may  remind  us  of  the  story  of  the  cicerone,  who 
showed  the  sword  with  which  Balaam  smote  his 
ass.  Being  told  by  the  tourist  that  Balaam  did  not 
actually  smite,  but  only  desired  a  sword  that  he 
might  smite  with  it,  he  received  the  answer, 
“Well,  that’s  the  sword  he  wanted.”  This  out¬ 
did  even  our  own  P.  T.  Barnum’s  story  of  the 
club  that  (might  have)  killed  Captain  Cook. 
Since  at  twenty  smaller  places  had  the  authentic 
club  been  exhibited,  Barnum’s  show  could  not  be 
without  it,  and  keep  up  its  reputation. 


STIRLING  CASTLE  AND  TOWN 


99 


To  the  focus  of  Scottish  history,  Stirling,  we  hied 
during  several  of  our  journeyings  In  Scotland.  As 
with  Niagara,  at  the  first  vision  one  may  not  have 
grasped  the  full  glory,  but  a  second  or  third  view 
deepened  one’s  impression.  There  are  others,  how¬ 
ever,  who  in  imagination,  after  having  read  Scott’s 
“  Lady  of  the  Lake  ”  have  pictured  to  their  minds 
“  Stirling’s  towers  ”  and  were  not  in  the  least  dis¬ 
appointed,  when  beholding  for  the  first  time  the 
reality  in  stone.  A  great  rock,  like  that  in  Edin¬ 
burgh,  rises  sheer  from  the  plain.  The  tourist  sees 
one  of  those  natural  fortresses,  around  which, 
first  a  church,  then  a  fair,  then  a  village,  then  a 
town,  and  finally,  a  famous  city  have  had  their 
evolution.  One  needs  but  little  power  of  the  his¬ 
toric  imagination  to  go  back  to  the  days  before 
the  streets,  avenues,  and  imposing  buildings  of  to¬ 
day  existed,  and  think  of  steel-clad  knights  and 
long  trains  of  men  with  claymore  and  target.  The 
castle,  built  on  a  precipitous  rock,  overlooks  one 
of  those  low,  fiat,  alluvial  plains,  which  the  Scots 
call  a  carse. 

Stirling,  which  had  several  names,  in  different 
forms,  beside  the  Gaelic  “  Struitlda,”  was  also 
known  as  “  Snowdon,”  as  those  may  remember  who 
have  read  Scott. 

If  there  be  one  place  north  of  the  Tweed,  where, 
at  a  single  glance,  one  may  view  and  comprehend 
the  chief  river  system  of  Scotland,  Stirling  Is  that 
place.  From  this  point  one  notes  the  main  streams. 


100 


BONNIE  SCOTLAND 


the  affluents,  and  the  gathering  of  the  waters, 
which  make  the  Clyde,  the  Forth,  and  the  Tay. 
He  can  then  realize  how  great  and  how  important 
in  the  political  and  economic  history  of  Scotland 
has  been  that  great  central  valley,  which  stretches 
from  the  North  Sea  to  the  waters  of  the  Atlantic 
Ocean. 

Stirling  touches  Scottish  history  very  early.  It 
was  so  strong,  in  1304,  that  at  its  most  famous 
siege,  by  Edward  I,  pretty  much  all  the  besieging 
implements  and  heavy  siege  machinery  had  to  be 
brought  from  the  Tower  of  London.  At  last,  one 
engine,  called  “the  Wolf,”  was  so  terribly  de¬ 
structive  that,  by  filling  up  the  ditch  with  stones 
and  rubbish,  the  English  rushed  over  and  fought 
their  way  into  the  keep.  The  castle  was  taken  and 
for  ten  years  it  remained  in  the  possession  of  the 
Southrons.  In  fact,  it  was  to  maintain  the  English 
grip  upon  this  stronghold  that  Edward  II  assem¬ 
bled  that  mighty  army  for  invasion,  which  was  so 
signally  defeated  by  the  Bruce  at  Bannockburn. 

When  one  thinks  of  that  decisive  battle,  which 
turned  the  face  of  Scotland  for  hundreds  of  years 
to  France,  for  her  art  and  culture,  instead  of  to 
her  nearer  southern  neighbor,  England,  he  is  apt  to 
muse  upon  the  different  results  had  Edward  suc¬ 
ceeded.  Possibly  an  early  union  of  Scotland  and 
England  and  fusion  of  the  two  peoples  might  have 
been  the  result  and  the  ensuing  story  have  been 
best  for  civilization  and  humanity ;  but  certainly 


STIRLING  CASTLE,  FROM  THE  KINTCS  KNOT 


STIRLING  CASTLE  AND  TOWN 


101 


Scotland’s  history  would  not  have  been  either  so 
interesting  or  so  inspiring. 

After  the  death  of  the  Bruce,  Stirling  Castle 
was  captured,  in  succession,  by  Edward  Balliol 
and  for  King  David.  When  the  House  of  Stuart 
had  evolved  from  a  family  of  Norman  barons,  emi¬ 
grants  from  Shropshire  to  improve  their  fortunes, 
and,  acting  as  stewards  in  the  new  land,  had 
reached  royalty,  Stirling  Castle  became  the  king's 
dwelling-place.  For  centuries  afterward,  it  was 
their  favorite  residence  and  the  place  of  coronation 
of  the  Scottish  kings.  Here  James  H  and  James  V 
were  born  and  here  James  VI  of  Scotland  and  I 
of  England  was  baptized. 

It  was  James  HI  who  added  so  largely  to  its 
architecture  and  built  the  Parliament  House.  It  is 
iu  an  inventory  of  the  effects  of  this  slaughtered 
king  that  the  first  mention  of  the  thistle  as  the 
national  emblem  of  Scotland  occurs.  Later  this  de¬ 
vice  appears  on  the  coins  of  the  realm,  but  not 
until  James  VI  is  found  the  motto,  “  Nemo  me 
impune  lacessit.” 

As  we  entered  through  the  gateway  and  walked 
up  through  the  battlemented  Inner  Way,  we  al¬ 
most  imagined  we  heard  the  din  of  clashing  swords 
echoing  the  past.  The  palace,  built  by  James  V, 
in  the  form  of  a  quadrangle,  is  in  the  southwestern 
part  and  is  profusely  decorated.  Yet  when  orna¬ 
mentation  and  structure  are  compared,  two  op¬ 
posing  systems  appear  to  be  at  work.  One  seems 


102 


BONNIE  SCOTLAND 


to  swear  at  the  other.  The  critic  had  better  not 
look  too  closely  when  near,  if  he  wishes  to  enjoy 
harmony,  for  in  this  case,  most  decidedly,  does  dis¬ 
tance  lend  enchantment  to  the  view.  Seen  from 
afar,  the  ornaments  appear  rich  and  graceful,  but 
when  close  at  hand  they  become  grotesque.  Cor¬ 
bels  and  brackets  are  especially  suggestive  of 
agonizing  exertion  and  the  general  effect  is  that 
of  a  nightmare.  At  a  distance,  these  melt  into 
harmonious  proportions,  but  they  lose  their  charm 
when  we  are  close  at  hand.  Here  are  hideous  mix¬ 
tures  of  human  and  brute  life.  Many  of  the  leer¬ 
ing  faces  are  simply  idiotic  and  the  contortions  of 
the  bodies  clustered  together  are  horrible.  As  has 
been  well  said,  “  the  wildest  and  least  becoming 
of  the  classic  legends  are  here  embodied,  without 
any  attempts  to  realize  beauty  of  form.” 

What  terrible  paradox,  or  love  of  the  ugly, 
must  have  dominated  the  taste  of  the  sculptor,  in 
the  same  age  that  reared  some  of  the  glorious  ab¬ 
beys  of  Scotland!  The  King’s  Room,  which  had 
an  oaken  ceiling,  with  richly  decorated  beams,  and 
in  each  partition  a  magnificently  carved  head,  — 
the  fame  of  which  had  gone  all  over  Europe,  —  was 
abolished  in  1777,  when  the  roof,  from  its  weight, 
threatened  to  fall  in. 

The  Douglas  Room  recalls,  to  the  student  of 
Scottish  history,  some  of  the  bloody  episodes  of 
feudalism,  when,  for  example,  a  powerful  baron 
like  WiUiam,  Earl  of  Douglas,  set  at  defiance 


STIRLING  CASTLE  AND  TOWN 


103 


the  authority  of  both  king  and  law.  J ames  II,  in 
1452,  invited  the  insurgent  to  meet  him  in  Stir¬ 
ling  Castle.  The  earl  came  only  after  receiving 
under  the  royal  protection  a  safe-conduct,  — which 
proved  that  there  was  a  lack  of  loyalty  and  much 
bad  blood.  The  king  first  used  words  of  persua¬ 
sion,  but  failing  in  this,  he  drew  the  dagger  to 
break  the  bonds  of  the  confederate  nobles. 

Thus  a  Stuart  king  showed  himself  a  traitor  by 
becoming  assassin,  setting  a  doubly  bad  example, 
which  his  descendants  followed  only  too  often. 
They  seemed  to  have  kept  the  taint  of  their  ances¬ 
tor  in  their  blood,  until  the  people  of  England  had 
perforce  to  behead  one  and  drive  out  the  other. 
The  original  Chapel  Royal,  erected  in  1594  by 
that  Stuart  who  became  the  first  English  king 
with  the  name  of  James,  is  now  a  storeroom  and 
armory.  It  completes  the  series  of  apartments 
which  the  tourist  cares  to  enter  and  examine. 

It  is  not  the  interior  architecture  of  Stirling 
Castle  that  repays  the  cultivated  visitor,  but  rather 
the  view  from  the  battlements,  over  the  glorious 
and  eloquent  landscape  of  mid-Scotland.  A  small 
opening  in  the  parapet  wall  of  the  garden,  termed 
the  “  Lady’s  Lookout,”  furnishes  for  us  our  best 
point  of  view.  W estward  are  the  Highland  Moun¬ 
tains  and  between  us  and  them  lies  the  Vale  of 
Menteith.  Farther  toward  the  setting  sun,  robed 
in  its  azure  hue,  rises  Ben  Lomond  which  mirrors 
itself  in  the  loch  of  the  same  name,  while  Ben 


104 


BONNIE  SCOTLAND 


Venue,  Ben  A’in,  Ben  Ledi,  and  the  cone  of  Ben 
Voirlich,  followed  in  succession,  the  chain  ending 
with  the  humbler  summit  of  Uam-var.  All  of  these 
we  saw  in  imagination,  long  ago,  when,  while  read¬ 
ing  Scott,  they  rose  in  mind  before  us  to  “senti¬ 
nel  enchanted  land.”  North  and  east  are  the  Ochil 
Hills  and  the  windings  of  the  Forth,  while  south¬ 
ward  are  the  Campsie  Hills.  From  the  town  at 
our  feet  the  turnpike  road  draws  the  eye  along 
to  the  ruins  of  Cambuskenneth  Abbey,  while 
reared  aloft  is  the  Wallace  Monument  and  within 
view  are  the  Abbey  Craig  and  the  Bridge  of 
Alan. 

As  we  look  at  the  old  cannon,  now  serving  for 
ornaments  and  mementoes,  we  ask.  Who,  when 
this  castle  of  Stirling  was  built,  could  have  con¬ 
ceived  the  power  of  artillery  in  our  century  ?  Scott 
tells,  in  his  picturesque  way,  of  a  cannon  ball  shot 
against  a  party  of  rebels  on  their  way  to  Edin¬ 
burgh;  but  to-day  one  need  only  mount  a  fifteen- 
inch  rifled  cannon  or  a  sixteen-inch  mortar  on  these 
ramparts,  to  tumble  down  the  whole  structure  by 
mere  concussion  and  recoil.  Yet  in  the  old  days 
of  catapults  and  smooth-bore  cannon,  it  was  quite 
possible  for  “  gray  Stirling,  Bulwark  of  the 
North,”  to  command  the  point  between  the  High¬ 
lands  and  the  Lowlands.  By  stationing  a  party  at 
the  Ford  of  Frew,  near  Aberfoyle,  the  main  pas¬ 
sage  from  the  mountain  district  was  completely 
closed.  Thus  it  was  true  that  the  Forth  on  which 


STIRLING  CASTLE  AND  TOWN  105 

Stirling  Castle  was  situated  “  bridled  the  wild 
Highlander.” 

It  is  said  that  the  merry  King  James  V  (1512- 
42)  put  on  various  disguises,  in  order  to  ramble 
incognito  about  his  realm  to  see  that  justice  was 
regularly  administered  —  and  also  to  indulge  in 
gallantry.  Sir  Walter  Scott,  in  “The  Lady  of 
the  Lake,”  pictures  him  as  the  Knight  of  Snow¬ 
don,  who  meets  and  kills  Roderick  Dim  and  re¬ 
wards  Ellen  Douglas  and  Malcolm  Graham. 

On  such  occasions,  the  king  took  his  name  from 
BaUingeich,  a  place  near  the  castle.  It  is  said  that 
the  two  comic  songs,  “The  Gaberlunzie  Man  ”  and 
“  The  Jolly  Beggar  ”  were  founded  on  the  success 
of  this  monarch’s  amorous  adventures  when  trav¬ 
elling  in  the  disguise  of  a  beggar. 

Around  the  castle  is  an  excellent  path,  called 
“the  Back  Walk,”  furnished  by  a  citizen  long 
ago,  and  a  stone  seat  has  been  erected  to  accom¬ 
modate  the  aged  and  infirm  who  resort  to  this 
spot.  The  guide  in  the  castle  points  out  many 
another  spot,  around  which  romantic  or  historical 
associations  cluster,  though  as  a  rule  these  are 
more  interesting  to  a  native  than  to  a  foreign 
tourist. 

Looking  at  the  Grey  Friars’  Church,  built  in 
1494  by  James  IV  and  added  to  by  Archbishop 
Beaton,  uncle  of  the  cardinal,  we  find  a  type  of 
architecture  peculiar  to  Scotland ;  that  is,  of  the 
later  pointed  Gothic.  Though  contemporary  with 


106 


BONNIE  SCOTLAND 


the  depressed,  or  perpendicular,  style  of  architec¬ 
ture  in  England,  this  edifice  might  appear  a  cen¬ 
tury  older  than  it  is.  The  later  forms  of  English 
Gothic  architecture,  however,  were  never  adopted 
in  Scotland,  for  the  Scots  preferred  to  follow  the 
taste  of  their  friends  in  France  rather  than  that 
of  their  enemies  in  England.  Here  King  James  I 
of  Great  Britain  was  crowned,  John  Knox  preach¬ 
ing  the  coronation  sermon.  It  was  this  same 
James,  “the  wisest  fool  in  Christendom,”  under 
whose  reign  the  Bible  was  again  translated, — 
then  a  “  revised,”  but  now,  for  centuries,  the  “  ac¬ 
cepted  ”  version,  —  and  to  whom  the  translators 
dedicated  that  presentation  address  which  to  Amer¬ 
icans  is  positively  disgusting  in  its  fulsome  laudation. 

From  the  fact  that  the  nobles  and  gentry,  on 
the  estates  adjoining  provincial  towns,  had  their 
winter  residence  in  the  city  also,  we  find  to-day, 
on  either  side  of  the  Main  Street  of  Stirling,  what 
were  once  ancient  mansions.  These  are  now  ten¬ 
anted  by  humbler  occupants.  They  show  turrets 
and  the  crow-step  gables,  like  those  we  meet  with 
so  frequently  in  Holland.  The  man  who  reared 
one  of  these  dwellings  foresaw  the  mutability  of 
aU  things  earthly  and  even  in  time  the  probable 
fall  of  his  house.  He  seemed  to  read  that  law  of 
Providence  which  raises  the  beggar  from  the 
dunghill  and  depresses  the  kings  from  their  high 
seats  to  the  level  of  common  folks  —  as  was  sung 
long  ago  by  the  Virgin  Mary  and  which  under  the 


STIRLING  CASTLE  AND  TOWN 


107 


old  Mancliu  dynasty  of  China  was  enacted  into  a 
law.  In  the  Central  Empire  every  generation  of 
the  Imperial  family  stepped  down  one  degree 
lower,  until,  in  the  ninth  generation,  they  were  able 
to  claim  the  status  and  honors  of  the  commoner. 

In  modern  English,  the  quaint  inscription  on 
the  Stirling  mansion  would  read :  — 

“  Here  I  forbear  my  names  or  arms  to  fix, 

Lest  I  or  mine  should  sell  these  stones  or  sticks.” 

Discovering,  as  we  do,  many  evidences  of  French 
taste  and  importation,  not  only  at  Stirling,  but 
throughout  Scotland,  besides  noting  so  many 
points  of  contact  between  Scottish  and  French 
history,  we  can  hardly  wonder  why  Scottish  peo¬ 
ple  feel  so  much  at  home  in  the  United  States  and 
why  Americans  and  Scotchmen  get  along  so  well 
together.  American  taste  in  dress  and  household 
matters  is  certainly  not  English,  nor  were  our 
ideas  on  the  subjects  of  art  and  decoration  inher¬ 
ited  from  our  British  ancestors.  Our  historic  rec¬ 
ord  and  vocabulary,  with  the  tendency  of  Ameri¬ 
cans  to-day  to  go  to  Paris  rather  than  London  for 
their  garments,  the  cultivation  of  their  tastes,  and 
for  many  of  their  ideas,  show  that  the  United 
States,  like  Scotland,  has  been  mightily  influ¬ 
enced  by  French  taste.  We,  Scots  and  Yankees, 
are  alike  debtors  to  the  land  in  which  feudalism, 
chivalry,  and  Gothic  art,  and  not  a  few  canons  of 
taste  and  things  of  beauty,  reached  their  highest 
development. 


CHAPTER  XI 

OBAN  AND  GLENCOE  —  CHAPTEES  IN  HISTOKT 

Oban  is  the  heart’s  delight  for  a  tourist,  pro¬ 
vided  he  does  not  arrive  when  the  hotels  are  over¬ 
crowded.  If  one  can  get  a  room  upon  the  high 
ridge  overlooking  the  shining  waters,  he  will  have 
a  view  that  is  inspiring. 

One  can  reach  Oban  either  by  the  Caledonian 
Railway,  by  way  of  Stirling  and  Callander,  or  on 
the  water  through  the  Crinan  Canal.  This  is  an 
artificial  highway,  nine  miles  long,  which  was  cut 
to  avoid  the  much  longer  passage  of  seventy  miles 
round  the  Mull  of  Cantyre,  when  going  from 
Glasgow  to  Inverness.  This  shorter  canal  was  ex¬ 
cavated  toward  the  end  of  the  eighteenth  century, 
but  its  life  has  not  been  without  those  accidents 
which  we,  from  digging  the  Panama  Canal,  have 
learned  are  inevitable.  In  1859,  after  a  heavy 
rain,  one  of  the  three  reservoirs  which  supply  the 
canal,  the  highest  being  eight  hundred  feet  above 
the  canal,  burst.  The  torrent  of  water  rushing 
down  the  mountain-slope  washed  away  part  of  the 
bank  and  filled  the  canal  with  earth  and  stones 
for  upwards  of  a  mile.  Nevertheless,  both  the 
Crinan  and  Caledonian  Canals  pay  well,  and 
from  the  surplus  earnings  are  kept  in  good  order. 


OBAN  AND  GLENCOE 


109 


At  Oban,  sheltered  and  with  a  delightful  cli¬ 
mate,  we  look  out  upon  the  pretty  little  island  of 
Kerrera,  an  old  fortress  of  the  MacDougalls, 
which  now  serves  for  use  as  well  as  beauty.  It 
not  only  screens  the  town  from  the  Atlantic  gales, 
but  virtually  converts  the  hay  into  a  land-locked 
harbor. 

Instead  of  the  little  village  and  fishing-station, 
which  Dr.  Johnson  looked  upon  in  1773,  Oban  is 
now  a  bustling  town,  which  is  very  lively  and 
crowded  in  summer,  withal  the  paradise  of  the 
tourist  and  shopper.  Here  ?Lny  pater familias,  with 
loose  change  in  his  pocket,  when  travelling  with 
his  wife  and  daughters,  is  apt  to  be,  on  entering 
one  of  those  splendid  shops,  as  wax  in  their  lov¬ 
ing  hands.  Silks,  plaids,  gay  woollens,  delightful 
things  of  all  sorts  in  dry  goods  —  which  ladies 
especially  can  so  well  appreciate  —  are  here  in  lux¬ 
urious  abundance,  and  at  prices  that  do  not  seem 
to  soar  too  high.  As  for  tartans,  one  can  study  in 
color  and  pattern  not  only  a  whole  encyclopaedia 
of  the  heraldry  of  the  clans,  but  may  be  shown 
combinations  of  checks  and  stripes,  wrought  into 
tartans  never  known  in  dream,  use,  or  history,  by 
any  Highland  clan.  Nevertheless  these  unhistori- 
cal  and  expensive  plaids  are  delightful  to  look  at 
and  will  make  “  cunning  ”  sashes  and  “  lovely  ” 
dress  goods. 

Not  the  least  of  our  pleasant  memories  of  Oban 
are  associated  with  those  wonderful  products  of  the 


110 


BONNIE  SCOTLAND 


loom.  Whether  coming  from  the  splendid  ma¬ 
chinery  of  the  great  mills,  built  with  the  aid  of 
capital  and  thus  reaching  the  highest  perfection 
of  craftsmanship  joined  to  the  last  refinement  of 
invention  and  experiment,  or  simply  the  handwork 
of  the  crofters  in  the  distant  isles,  these  tartans 
show  a  wonderful  evolution  of  national  art.  From 
many  women  and  girls  on  the  islands  far  out  at 
sea,  without  much  of  human  society  and  whose 
dumb  friends  are  but  dogs,  cattle,  and  sheep,  come 
reminders  of  their  industry  and  taste  that  are 
touching  to  both  one’s  imagination  and  sympathies. 
Let  us  hope  that  not  too  much  of  the  profits  of 
this  cottage  industry  goes  into  the  hands  of  those 
who  control  the  trade.  Let  the  worker  be  the  first 
partaker  of  the  fruits  of  his  toil. 

In  going  up  by  water  through  Scotland’s  great 
glen  and  canal,  at  our  leisure,  we  shall  stop  at  the 
places  worth  seeing.  Moreover,  the  twenty-eight 
locks  forming  “  Neptune’s  Staircase  ”  will  enable 
us  to  alternate  pedestrianism  with  life  on  deck. 
First,  after  a  ride  of  an  hour  and  a  half,  we  come 
to  the  town  called  Ballaculish.  It  has  an  imposing 
situation  at  the  entrance  of  Loch  Leven,  and  is 
not  far  away  from  the  wild  glen,  which  has  left, 
in  its  name  and  associations,  such  a  black  spot  on 
the  page  of  Scotland’s  annals  during  the  reign  of 
William  III. 

With  our  Boston  and  Buffalo  friends,  we  chat¬ 
ted  over  British  politics  in  the  past,  reopening 


OBAN  AND  GLENCOE 


111 


leaves  of  history,  as  we  steamed  to  Ballaculish, 
or  progressed  on  our  way  on  wheels  to  Glencoe. 
Except  shops  and  hotels,  and  the  old  slate  quar¬ 
ries,  by  which  the  roofs  of  the  world  are  covered,  — 
since  the  quarries  send  many  million  roofing  slates 
abroad  every  year,  —  there  is  little  to  see  in  this 
town  on  the  loch. 

Next  day  we  mounted  the  top  of  the  stage-coach, 
which  was  equipped  with  plenty  of  seats  and  was 
geared  to  fine  horses,  and  started  for  our  ride  into 
the  upper  and  lower  valleys  of  Glencoe,  which 
form  a  ravine  about  eight  miles  long.  Accom¬ 
panying  us  was  the  mountain  stream  called  the 
Cona,  that  is,  “  the  dark  Cona”  of  Ossian’s  poems, 
while  the  scarred  sides  of  the  hills  show  the  beds 
of  numerous  mountain  torrents.  These,  in  spring¬ 
time,  must  display  an  impressive  activity.  Half¬ 
way  up  the  glen,  the  stream  forms  a  little  loch. 
Toward  Invercoe,  the  landscape  acquires  a  softer 
beauty.  Lord  Strathcona  of  Canada  had  not  yet, 
in  1900,  purchased  the  heritage  of  the  Macdonalds 
of  Glencoe,  or  built  his  stately  mansion.  Yet  the 
wild  glen  is  well  worth  seeing,  either  by  starting 
from  the  northeastern  base  or  by  coming  up  from 
Ballaculish.  We  spent  a  half-hour  in  “Ossian’s 
Cave.” 

All  natural  associations,  however,  whether  weird 
or  beautiful,  and  even  the  Cave  of  Ossian  faded  into 
insignificance  compared  with  the  thrilling  story  of 
the  terrible  massacre  of  February  13,  1690,  when 


112 


BONNIE  SCOTLAND 


six  score  soldiers,  most  of  them  of  Campbell’s  clan, 
who  had  a  personal  spite  against  the  Macdonalds, 
lived  for  twelve  days  in  the  glen,  in  order  to  be¬ 
come  all  the  more  successful  murderers  in  the  end. 
After  receiving  the  hospitality  of  the  villagers,  they 
began  early  in  the  morning,  before  daylight,  the 
massacre  of  men,  women,  and  children.  The  work 
of  butchery  was  finished  by  fire  and  the  flocks  and 
herds  were  driven  off. 

From  childhood  we  had  heard  this  story.  Who 
that  has  lived  in  Schenectady,  New  York,  which 
suffered  a  like  fate  with  Glencoe,  during  “  King 
William’s  War,”  or  who  has  stndied,  without 
family  prejudice,  the  episode  of  Jacob  Leisler,  the 
people’s  champion  on  Manhattan,  but  has  heard  of 
the  many  horrors  for  which  WiUiam  was  blamed 
and  unjustly  condemned? 

What  was  the  share  of  King  William  III  in 
this  Glencoe  transaction?  The  subject  has  been 
discussed  in  pamphlets  and  books.  Turning  to 
Macaulay,  the  Whig  historian,  —  since  historiog¬ 
raphy,  as  with  Grote,  for  example,  is  often  politi¬ 
cal  pamphletism,  —  who  found  his  greatest  hero 
in  the  Dutch  Deliverer,  we  are  told  that  His  Maj¬ 
esty  knew  of  the  Macdonalds  only  as  a  rebellious 
clan  who  had  rejected  his  conciliatory  offers.  The 
Government  had,  in  good  season,  fixed  the  day  for 
rebellion  to  cease,  and  in  signing  the  order  for 
their  extirpation.  His  Majesty  merely  meant  that 
the  existence  of  the  clan  as  a  predatory  gang  should 


OBAN  AND  GLENCOE 


113 


be  broken  up.  Indeed,  their  stronghold  had  long 
been  called  “  a  den  of  thieves.”  William  did  not 
know  that  the  certificates  of  loyalty  to  the  throne, 
made  in  correct  form  by  Maclan,  the  chief  of  the 
Macdonalds  at  Glencoe,  had  been  delayed  for  a 
week  after  the  date  of  possible  pardon,  and  that 
this  certificate  had  been  suppressed  so  that  when 
he  signed  the  order  of  attack,  he  was  ignorant  of 
the  situation.  It  is  not  for  us  to  give  judgment  in 
the  case. 

On  the  second  visit  our  travel  mate,  Frances, 
on  seeing  the  dark  glen,  felt  like  a  child  entering 
into  a  haunted  chamber,  almost  expecting  the 
ghosts  of  the  Macdonalds  to  rise  up  and  call  for 
justice. 

Nevertheless,  while  twice  visiting  Glencoe,  and 
still  again  and  more,  when  in  Ireland,  in  1913,  I 
wondered  why  no  complete  life  of  William  III, 
King  of  England  and  Stadholder  of  the  Dutch 
Republic,  and  one  of  England’s  best  rulers,  had 
ever  been  written.  Pamphlets,  sketches,  materi¬ 
als  to  serve,  biographical  chapters  there  are,  but 
no  work  at  once  scholarly  and  exhaustive.  There 
is  abundant  material  for  such  a  biography,  and  if 
written  with  historical  accuracy  and  literary  charm, 
it  would  be  not  only  a  great  contribution  to  litera¬ 
ture,  but  would  serve  to  allay  prejudices  that  stiU 
rankle.  Such  a  work,  so  greatly  needed,  would 
help  to  solve  some  of  those  terrible  problems  gener¬ 
ated  by  age-long  misrule  and  misunderstanding. 


114 


BONNIE  SCOTLAND 


that  have  made  Ireland  the  weakest  spot  in  the 
British  Empire  and  a  reproach  to  English  govern¬ 
ment.  It  may  even  he  true  to  assert  that  the  po¬ 
litical  condition  of  Ireland  in  1913  was  one  of  the 
potent  causes  precipitating  war  in  Europe.  Per¬ 
sonally,  I  believe,  from  having  studied  the  life  of 
King  William,  from  documents  in  Holland  and 
England,  that  he  is  not  responsible  for  one  half 
of  the  cruelties  with  which  the  Irish  National¬ 
ists,  mostly  of  alien  form  of  faith,  charge  him. 
Nor  does  he  deserve  the  censure  and  reproach 
which  so  many  Scottish  writers  and  prejudiced 
Englishmen  have  heaped  upon  him.  Nor  could  he 
possibly  have  been  the  “sour  ”  Calvinist  of  popular 
tradition.  From  his  reign  the  Free  Churchmen  date 
their  freedom. 

It  is  not  at  all  creditable  that  such  a  hiatus 
exists  in  the  library  of  English  biography,  for  the 
fame  of  William  is  as  surely  and  as  constantly  in¬ 
creasing  as  is  that  of  William  Pitt,  Millard  Fill¬ 
more,  and  Abraham  Lincoln.  In  1914  a  new 
statue  of  this  royal  statesman  was  reared  and 
dedicated  in  one  of  the  towns  of  England.  It  was 
this  champion  of  representative  government  who, 
with  sword  and  pen,  curbed  in  Louis  XIV  of 
France  that  same  spirit  of  ambition  which  was 
manifested  by  Philip  II  and  has  been  shown  by 
William  of  Germany.  The  Stadtholder  of  Hol¬ 
land  saved  Europe  to  the  principles  of  Magna 
Charta  and  of  constitutional  government. 


OBAN  AND  GLENCOE 


115 


Just  before  our  first  visit  to  Scotland,  Quan- 
dril  had  been  reading  Scott’s  story  of  “  Aunt 
Margaret’s  Mirror,”  the  scenes  of  which  romance 
are  laid  in  Lady  Stair’s  house  and  “close.”  Since 
that  time  Marjorie  Bowen  has  put  in  fiction  some 
of  the  salient  incidents  of  the  king’s  life,  and  thus 
brought  him  to  the  notice  of  many  tens  of  thou¬ 
sands  of  readers  to  whom  he  had  been  previously 
but  a  name.  The  novel  entitled  “  The  Master  of 
Stair  ”  treats  of  the  Glencoe  incident,  with  great 
detail  and  with  wonderful  vividness  and  great  lit¬ 
erary  power.  The  title  of  the  book  is  identical 
with  that  of  the  title  of  Sir  James  Dalrymple, 
first  Viscount  of  Stair,  who  must  bear  the  blame 
of  the  odious  transaction,  for  he  was  undoubtedly 
the  principal  adviser  of  the  king,  and  was  perhaps 
personally  responsible  for  the  treachery  and  cruelty 
which  accompanied  the  deed.  It  was  he  who  urged 
this  method  of  extirpation  as  an  effective  way  of 
repressing  rebellion  in  the  Highlands.  In  spite  of 
his  great  services  to  the  State,  this  stain  upon  his 
name  cannot  be  effaced.  He  is  buried  in  the 
church  of  St.  Giles  in  Edinburgh. 

As  for  Claver house,  or  “  Claver’se,”  as  the 
common  folks  pronounce  his  name, — the  “  Bonnie 
Dundee  ”  of  Scott’s  rollicking  cavalry  song,  — 
he  still  bears  with  many  the  Gaelic  name  given 
him,  which  means  “Dark  John  of  the  Battles.” 
How  highly  King  William  appreciated  the  mili¬ 
tary  abilities  of  one  whom  he  had  known  in  the 


116 


BONNIE  SCOTLAND 


Belgic  Netherlands  as  a  soldier  of  fortune  in  the 
Dutch  army,  and  who  is  said  to  have  there,  on  one 
occasion,  saved  William’s  life,  is  shown,  when  on 
hearing  the  news  of  the  death,  at  Killiecrankie, 
of  his  friend,  Claverhouse,  the  Viscount  of  Dun¬ 
dee,  who  had  become  his  enemy,  he  remarked, 
“  Dundee  is  slain.  He  would  otherwise  have  been 
here  to  tell  the  news  himself.” 

At  Drumclog,  near  Loudon  Hill,  where  the 
Covenanters  obtained  a  temporary  victory  over 
Claverhouse,  a  stone  has  been  erected  to  commem¬ 
orate  the  triumph.  For  many  years  an  annual 
sermon,  on  the  1st  of  June,  was  preached  on  the 
field.  Perhaps  this  may  even  yet  be  the  case,  but, 
under  the  shadow  of  the  great  world-war  of  the 
twentieth  century,  it  is  probable  that  these  local 
anniversaries  suffer,  are  ignored,  or  their  celebra¬ 
tions  are  postponed  to  a  happier  time. 

Happily  for  Scotland’s  people,  they  have  the 
gift  of  song,  which  lightens  many  labors.  Even 
on  the  days  we  visited  Glencoe’s  dark  ravine,  we 
heard,  toward  the  end  of  the  afternoon,  sounds  of 
melody  from  the  toilers  in  the  grain-fields.  It 
came  like  a  burst  of  sunshine  after  a  dark  and 
cloudy  day. 

This  inborn  love  of  music  among  the  High¬ 
landers  was  shown  when  the  women  reaped  the 
grain  and  the  men  bound  up  the  sheaves.  The 
strokes  of  the  sickle  were  timed  by  the  modula¬ 
tions  of  the  harvest  song,  by  which  all  their  voices 


OBAN  AND  GLENCOE 


117 


were  united.  The  sight  and  sound  recalled  the 
line  in  Campbell’s  poem,  “  The  Soldier’s  Dream,” 
committed  to  memory  in  boyhood  :  — 

“  I  heard  my  own  mountain  goats  bleating  aloft, 

And  knew  the  sweet  strain  that  the  corn  reapers 
sung.” 

“  They  accompany  in  the  Highlands  every  ac¬ 
tion,  which  can  be  done  in  equal  time,  with  an 
appropriate  strain,  which  has,  they  say,  not  much 
meaning,  but  the  effects  are  regularity  and  cheer¬ 
fulness,”  writes  the  historian  of  Scottish  music. 
The  ancient  song,  by  which  the  rowers  of  galleys 
were  animated,  may  be  supposed  to  have  been  of 
this  metrical  kind  and  synchronous.  There  is  an 
oar  song  still  used  by  the  Hebridians,  and  we  all 
recall  the  boat  song  in  “  The  Lady  of  the  Lake,” 
which  begins :  — 

“  Hail  to  the  chief  who  in  triumph  advances.” 

Finely,  in  “  Marmion,”  is  the  story  of  rhythmic 
motion  joined  to  song  to  lighten  labor,  told  by 
Fitz-Eustace,  the  squire,  concerning  the  lost  bat¬ 
tle,  on  which  Scott  comments,  with  an  American 
reference :  — 

“  Such  have  I  heard,  in  Scottish  land, 

Rise  from  the  busy  harvest  band. 

When  falls  before  the  mountaineer. 

On  lowland  plains,  the  ripened  ear. 

Now  one  shrill  voice  the  notes  prolong. 

Now  a  wild  chorus  .swells  the  song; 

Oft  have  I  listened,  and  stood  still, 

As  it  came  softened  up  the  hill, 


118 


BONNIE  SCOTLAND 


And  deemed  it  the  lament  of  men 
Who  languished  for  their  native  glen  ; 

And  thought,  how  sad  would  be  such  sound, 

On  Susquehanna’s  swampy  ground, 

Kentucky’s  wood-encumbered  brake, 

Or  wild  Ontario’s  boundless  lake; 

Where  heart-sick  exiles,  in  the  strain, 

Recalled  fair  Scotland’s  hills  again  1  ” 

Yet  it  is  not  in  secular  music  only  that  the 
Scots  excel.  They  have  also  a  rich  treasury  of 
devotion  and  praise,  though  for  centuries  the 
superabundance  of  song  which  had  only  worldly 
associations  and  was  linked  with  the  lower  pleas¬ 
ures  made  them  put  superfine  value  on  the  He¬ 
brew  Psalms  as  being  most  fit  for  the  soul’s 
utterance  before  the  Infinite. 


CHAPTER  XII 

Scotland’s  island  world:  iona  and  staffa 

While  Scotland  is,  by  its  definition,  a  “  pene- 
insula,”  or  “  peninsula,”  that  is,  “  almost  an 
island,”  it  has,  out  in  the  Atlantic  Ocean,  an  ar¬ 
chipelago  of  five  hundred  islands.  Of  these  about 
one  fifth  are  inhabited,  and  of  these  one  third 
have  each  a  population  of  only  ten  or  even  fewer 
souls.  This  great  group  lies  wholly  to  the  west¬ 
ward,  for  the  east  coast  of  Scotland  is  singidarly 
free  from  islands,  the  number  on  this  side  being 
very  much  like  that  of  angels’  visits,  which  are 
spoken  of  as  few  and  far  between. 

These  islands  are  all  situated  within  three  de¬ 
grees  of  latitude.  Another  name  for  them  is  the 
“  Hebrides,”  which  term  was  formerly  held  to 
embrace  all  the  Scottish  western  islands,  includ¬ 
ing  also  the  peninsula  of  Kintyre  and  islets  in  the 
Firth  of  Clyde,  as  well  as  the  Isle  of  Man  and 
the  Isle  of  Rathlin. 

In  discriminating  between  the  Outer  and  the 
Inner  Hebrides  as  many  do,  this  differentiation 
has  a  geological  basis,  for  the  Outer  Hebrides 
have  a  foundation  of  gneiss,  while  the  more 
northerly  at  least  of  the  Inner  Hebrides  are  of 
trap  rock.  Broadly  speaking,  in  popular  usage 


120 


BONNIE  SCOTLAND 


the  term  is  “Western  Islands,”  while  in  litera- 
tui’e  “  Hebrides  ”  is  used.  This  seems  all  the 
more  appropriate,  because  it  was  the  accident  of 
a  misplaced  or  added  letter  that  gave  the  islands 
their  literai-y  cognomen. 

As  in  the  case  of  our  own  country,  which  has 
profited  so  richly  through  Scottish  emigration 
from  those  islands,  some  of  the  most  delightfully 
sounding  names,  in  their  present  form,  have  come 
to  us  through  the  mistake  of  a  transcriber;  as, 
for  example,  the  romantic  name,  Horicon,  with 
which  tourists  on  Lake  George  as  well  as  readers 
of  Cooper’s  novels  are  familiar.  The  real  word 
intended  for  the  map  is  “Iroquois,”  but  as  a 
Frenchman  wrote  it  “  Horicou,”  which  was  fur¬ 
ther  altered  by  a  misprint,  which  made  it  “  Hori¬ 
con,”  it  has  so  remained.  So  also  the  “  Hebudes  ” 
of  Pliny,  spelled  by  a  misprint  “  Hebrides,”  has 
held  its  own.  Sir  Walter  Scott  adheres  to  the 
form  “  Hebudes.”  “  Grampian,”  which  sounds  so 
pleasant  to  the  ear,  is  another  instance  of  a  false 
reading  or  misprint,  which  improves  the  original 
form  and  sound. 

The  total  area  of  these  Western  Islands  is  2812 
square  miles,  or  a  fourth  larger  than  Delaware. 
Only  one  ninth  of  the  soil  is  cultivated,  for  most 
of  the  surface  consists  of  moors  and  mountains. 
This  region  being  at  the  terminal  of  the  Gulf 
Stream,  the  climate  is  mild,  though  so  humid  that 
mists  are  almost  perpetual.  The  drizzling  rains 


IONA  AND  STAFFA 


121 


are  so  common  that  the  mountains  are  hidden  from 
view  or  shrouded  in  fog  or  cloud  most  of  the  time. 
The  rainfall  is  heavy.  In  one  place  forty-two 
inches  is  the  average.  Potatoes  and  turnips,  bar¬ 
ley  and  oats  form  the  staple  crops,  though  with 
sheep-farming,  cattle-raising,  fishing,  distilling, 
slate-quari’ying,  and  the  making  of  tweeds,  tar¬ 
tans,  and  woollen  cloth,  with  assistance  from  the 
patronage  of  summer  tourists,  the  people  are  able 
to  get  a  living.  In  religious  “  persuasion  ”  most 
of  the  inhabitants  belong  to  the  United  Free 
Church,  though  on  some  of  the  islands  the  people 
adhere  to  the  forms  of  religion  cherished  in  the 
Roman  Catholic  Church. 

From  the  earliest  centuries  the  Scandinavian 
pagans  poured  into  the  islands  and  among  the 
Celts,  to  rob  and  burn,  but  also  to  settle  down 
and  be  decent.  When  satiated  with  robbery  and 
slaughter,  they  became  peaceful,  married  the 
daughters  of  the  land,  and  adopted  the  language 
and  faith  of  the  islanders.  The  vikings  and  the 
immigrants  multiplied  in  the  Hebrides,  especially 
when  tyrants  in  Norway  became  unusually  active 
and  severe.  Battles  and  fighting  between  the  is¬ 
landers  and  the  Norwegians  kept  the  region  in  tur¬ 
moil  for  centuries.  Not  a  few  attempts  were  made 
by  the  Scottish  kings  to  displace  the  Norsemen. 
One  of  these,  John  Macdonald,  adopted  the  title 
of  “  Lord  of  the  Isles.”  He  married  the  daughter 
of  the  earl,  who  afterwards  became  Robert  II. 


122 


BONNIE  SCOTLAND 


Battles,  treaties,  and  alliances  followed,  but  insu¬ 
lar  sovereignty  was  abolished  in  the  reign  of 
James  V.  Bloody  feuds  continued,  through  the 
sixteenth  and  seventeenth  centuries,  among  the 
rival  clans  and  their  dependent  tribes. 

Even  the  subsidies  granted  by  WiUiam  III  to 
the  chiefs  could  not  preserve  order.  Peace  dawned 
only  when  the  tribal  system  was  broken  up.  Then, 
through  the  abolition  of  hereditary  jurisdiction, 
through  inheritance,  and  the  appointments  in  the 
different  districts  of  sheriffs  who  held  the  writ  of 
the  king,  peace  was  secured.  Nevertheless,  in  the 
new  system  of  management  the  rents  being  made 
too  high,  there  began  an  emigration  to  America 
that  continued  for  many  years,  threatening  at  one 
time  to  depopulate  the  islands.  Dr.  Johnson,  who, 
with  Boswell,  made  what  was  virtually  an  explora¬ 
tion  and  published  the  classic,  entitled  “A  Journey 
to  the  Western  Islands  of  Scotland,”  in  1773,  tells 
of  the  ships  waiting  in  the  harbors  ready  to  take 
on  their  human  cargo  for  the  continent  of  prom¬ 
ise.  Thousands  crossed  the  ocean  to  Canada  or 
into  those  Atlantic  colonies  which  became  the 
United  States. 

Following  the  loss  of  so  many  able-bodied  men 
and  women,  the  standard  of  civilization  in  these 
islands  began  to  sink,  even  though  the  popula¬ 
tion,  which  subsisted  almost  wholly  on  potatoes 
and  herring,  kept  multiplying.  When  in  1846  the 
potato  blight  reduced  the  masses,  both  in  Ireland 


IONA  AND  STAFFA 


123 


and  in  western  Scotland,  to  the  verge  of  starva¬ 
tion,  another  large  emigration  of  thousands  to 
Australia  and  America  took  place.  Had  Carlyle’s 
advice  been  followed,  Canada  would  have  forty 
million  and  South  Africa  ten  million  loyal  Brit¬ 
ish  subjects.  This  sage  wanted  the  Government  to 
turn  men-of-war  into  emigrant  ships,  in  order  to 
give  free  transport  of  people  to  waste  lands  beyond 
sea.  A  royal  commission,  appointed  by  Parlia¬ 
ment,  later  secured  legislation  which  has  made 
life  for  the  crofters  in  the  island  more  tolerable. 

Steering  south  from  Oban,  we  passed  some 
roeky  isles,  one  of  which  is  called,  from  its  shape, 
the  Dutchman’s  Cap.  When  in  front  of  Fingal’s 
Cave,  we  are  awed  by  its  imposing  entrance  which 
is  formed  by  a  series  of  basaltic  columns  from 
twenty  to  forty  feet  high,  which  sustain  an  arch 
sixty  feet  above  the  sea.  We  land  in  a  boat  amid 
the  fuming  waves  and  climb  into  the  cave,  which 
for  a  distance  of  about  two  hundred  feet  has  a 
sort  of  rather  rough  natural  sidewalk  made  of 
fallen  columns.  The  waves  beneath  us  are  contin¬ 
ually  surging  and  the  thunderous  echoes  resound 
continually.  The  island,  of  volcanic  origin,  is 
nothing  more  or  less  than  the  fragment  of  an  an¬ 
cient  stream  of  lava.  In  Fingal’s  Cave  there  is 
first  a  basement  of  tufa,  from  which  rise  colon¬ 
nades  of  basalt  in  pillars  which  form  the  walls 
and  faces  of  the  grotto,  the  roof  of  which  consists 
of  amorphous  basalt. 


124 


BONNIE  SCOTLAND 


Fingal’s  Cave  was  first  noted  and  described  by 
Sir  Joseph  Banks  in  1773.  The  grotto  is  two 
hundred  and  twenty-seven  feet  long,  forty-two 
feet  wide,  and  sixty-six  feet  high.  But  the  height 
of  the  pillars  is  irregular,  being  thirty-six  feet  on 
one  side  and  but  eighteen  on  the  other.  Its  waters 
are  the  haunts  of  seals  and  of  sea-birds. 

Happily  for  us,  instead  of  seeing  nothing  but 
the  sombre  gray,  in  an  atmosphere  of  fog  or  cloud, 
or  storm-tossed  waves,  which  on  occasions  do  not 
allow  passengers  to  disembark,  the  bursts  of  sun¬ 
light  made  unique  beauty,  both  in  atmospheric 
conditions  and  in  an  exquisite  play  of  colors.  The 
basalt  appeared  to  combine  every  tint  of  warm 
red,  brown,  and  rich  maroon,  while  the  seaweed 
and  lichen  of  green  and  gold  seemed  like  the  up¬ 
holstery  of  a  palace.  Through  the  percolation  of 
the  limestone  water,  the  walls  were  in  places  of  a 
snow-white  tint.  Looking  upward  we  could  see 
yellow,  crimson,  and  white  stalactites.  When  we 
examined  the  columns  they  appeared  to  possess  a 
regularity  so  perfect  as  to  suggest  the  work  of  a 
Greek  sculptor  rather  than  the  play  of  Nature’s 
forces  in  her  moods  of  agony.  The  Gaelic  form 
of  the  name  is  taken  from  the  murmuring  of  the 
sea,  meaning  the  “Cave  of  Music.”  In  times  of 
storm  the  compressed  air  rushes  out  producing  a 
sound  as  of  thunder. 

“  Fingal  ”  is  the  name  of  the  hero  in  the  poems 
of  Ossian,  which  are  based  on  the  ancient  tradi- 


IONA  AND  STAFFA 


125 


tions  of  the  Gaelic  people  of  Scotland  and  Ireland, 
still  known  and  told  among  the  people,  so  many 
of  whom  in  the  outer  islands  use  this  ancient 
tongue.  The  Finn  in  these  old  stories  was  the 
Rig  or  King  of  the  Fenians  of  Leinster,  Ireland, 
who  lived  at  a  “du  ”  or  fort  in  the  County  of  Kil¬ 
dare,  and  who  was  killed  on  the  Boyne  by  a  fish¬ 
erman,  A.D.  283.  As  for  the  name  “  Fingal,”  it  is 
thought  to  mean  a  “  fair  foreigner,”  or  Norwe¬ 
gian  ;  the  word  “  Dubgal,”  meaning  a  “  dark  for¬ 
eigner  ”  or  invader;  the  blond  pirates  or  intruders 
being  the  Norwegians  and  the  swarthy  ones  com¬ 
ing  from  Denmark.  Both  varieties  of  these  un¬ 
scientific  marauders  ravaged  Ireland  in  the  ninth 
century. 

Only  the  chief  caves  have  names.  On  the  south¬ 
east  coast  is  the  Clam  Shell,  or  Scallop  Cave.  It 
is  thirty  feet  high,  eighteen  feet  wide,  and  about 
one  hundred  and  thirty  feet  long,  one  side  of  it 
consisting  of  ridges  of  basalt  which  stand  out  like 
the  ribs  of  a  ship.  Near  by  is  the  Rock  of  the 
Herdsmen,  from  a  supposed  likeness  to  a  shep¬ 
herd’s  cap.  The  Isle  of  Columns  can  be  fuUy  seen 
only  at  low  water. 

No  human  habitations  were  noted  on  the  Island 
of  Staffa  by  us,  during  our  short  stay.  W e  got  on 
board  the  steamer  again  and  proceeded  to  Iona, 
that  is,  “  the  island  for  Columkill,  or  the  Island 
of  Columba,  from  time  unrecorded  has  had  a  fer¬ 
tile  soil.  This  fertility,  supposed  to  be  in  the  dark 


126 


BONNIE  SCOTLAND 


ages  miraculous,  led  probably  to  its  early  occupa¬ 
tion. 

1  Iona’s  history  begins  in  the  year  563  when  St. 
Columba,  from  Ireland,  landed  on  its  shores  with 
twelve  apostles.  By  his  life  and  work  he  rendered 
the  place  so  rich  in  holy  associations  that  to-day 
the  hosts  of  divided  Christendom,  Roman  Catho¬ 
lic,  Protestant  Episcopal,  and  Presbyterian,  claim 
Iona  as  the  cradle  of  their  faith,  and  on  different 
days  —  never  together  in  holy  union  —  visit  the 
sacred  isle.  Sweethearts  and  wives  must  not  meet. 
Which  is  which  ? 

Iona’s  scenery  was  ever  attractive,  with  its  pre¬ 
cipitous  cliffs,  its  dazzling  stretches  of  white  shells 
and  sand,  its  fertile  fields,  and  its  grassy  hollows. 
Its  natural  charms  drew  visitors  from  afar  and 
made  those  dwelling  upon  its  acres  content.  Even 
before  the  name  of  Christ  was  uttered,  it  had 
been,  as  the  Highlanders  called  it  in  their  Gaelic 
tongue,  the  “  Island  of  the  Druids.”  It  was  there¬ 
fore  famous,  before  it  became  the  centre  of  Celtic 
Christianity,  and  the  mother  community,  whose 
children  were  the  depositories  of  the  human  spirit. 
From  its  numerous  monastic  houses,  hundreds 
of  alumni  went  out  as  missionaries  to  convert 
all  northern  Britain.  In  a  word,  the  story  of  hu¬ 
manity  in  aU  the  earth  is  told  here.  The  strata 
of  religions,  the  deposits  of  the  human  soul,  are 
almost  as  discernible  on  Iona  as  are  the  layers  of 
geology,  or  the  floors  of  successive  cities  revealed 


IONA  AND  STAFFA 


127 


by  the  spade,  in  Egypt  or  Palestine,  in  the  terpen 
of  Holland  or  the  mounds  of  Babylon. 

Even  the  humorous  side  of  religion  is  here  dis¬ 
cernible  to  sharp  eyes.  Some  of  the  carvings  in 
the  choir  stalls  and  chisellings  of  the  marble  aloft 
show  the  joker  in  stone.  The  demons  are  repre¬ 
sented  as  having  their  fun — and  this  is  equally 
true  in  the  art  of  Buddhism  in  Japan  and  of  me- 
diaevalism  in  Iona.  The  tower  of  the  church  of 
St.  Mary,  on  this  island,  has  one  bit  of  sculpture 
representing  an  angel  weighing  souls  in  a  pair  of 
scales,  one  of  which  is  kept  down  by  a  demon’s 
paw.  It  reminded  us  of  Dr.  Franklin’s  Yankee 
characterization  of  the  Dutchman’s  trade  with  the 
Indians. 

Iona  was  at  times  so  sacred  a  place,  with  its 
scores  of  monasteries  and  nunneries,  with  its  small 
forest  of  crosses,  and  with  architecture  that  en¬ 
thralled  by  its  beauty,  that  it  was  for  centuries  a 
spot  to  which  pilgrims  came  from  all  lands,  and 
in  its  holy  soil  kings  and  nobles  longed  to  be 
buried  ;  yet  it  was  not  free  from  the  robber  pagan 
and  the  bloody  spoiler.  The  North  Sea  rovers,  from 
Sweden,  Norway,  and  Denmark,  descended  in  the 
eighth  century  to  plunder,  to  burn,  and  to  kill. 
For  two  hundred  years  Iona  lay  desolate,  until 
Queen  Margaret  restored  the  desecrated  monas¬ 
tery,  building  the  chapel  over  the  site  of  St.  Co- 
lumba’s  grave.  Later  came  the  Benedictine  monks, 
who  expelled  or  absorbed  the  Celtic  community. 


128 


BONNIE  SCOTLAND 


Intermittently  the  island  was  the  seat  of  the  bish¬ 
opric  of  the  Western  Isles,  but  at  the  Reforma¬ 
tion  the  monastic  buildings  were  dismantled  by 
order  of  the  legal  authorities.  When  Dr.  John¬ 
son  visited  Iona  in  1773,  only  two  persons  on  the 
island  could  speak  English.  None  could  read  or 
write. 

Of  Iona’s  political  fortunes  the  story  is  brief, 
the  most  interesting  point  to  an  American  being 
that,  when  oppression  and  the  severe  conditions 
made  life  here  undesirable  or  scarcely  possible, 
the  people  emigrated.  From  the  hardy  race,  in¬ 
habiting  this  and  other  of  the  Western  Isles,  the 
United  States  received  a  noble  contingent,  to  en¬ 
rich  its  grand  composite  of  humanity. 

We  spent  some  time  in  the  cemetery  called 
“  the  Burial  Place  of  Kings,”  which  is  reputed  to 
contain  the  dust  of  forty-eight  Scottish,  four  Irish, 
and  eight  Danish  and  Norwegian  monarchs,  besides 
many  monumental  stones.  The  number  of  crosses 
set  up  on  Iona  was  nearly  equal  to  that  of  the  days 
of  the  year.  These  were  standing,  up  to  Reforma¬ 
tion  times,  when  most  of  them  were  thrown  into 
the  sea  by  order  of  the  Synod  of  Argyl.  Yet  a  few 
still  remain.  The  finest  are  the  Maclean’s  cross 
and  St.  Martin’s  cross,  both  being  almost  perfect 
in  form,  despite  centuries  of  weathering.  Both  are 
richly  carved  with  runic  inscriptions,  emblematic 
devices,  and  fanciful  scroll-work. 

It  was  certainly  a  brain  stimulant  and  a  heart- 


THE  IvIXGS’  GRAVES.  IONA 


1 


I 


IONA  AND  STAFFA 


129 


warmer  to  ramble  among  these  ruins.  Imagina¬ 
tion  re-created  the  scenes  in  those  ancient  days 
when  the  light  of  the  gospel  was  brought  by  a 
saintly  man  filled  with  the  spirit  of  Jesus.  We 
realized,  in  measure  at  least,  how  great  was  his 
work  and  how  far-reaching  was  his  influence  in 
winning  men  to  Christ,  before  Latin  and  Ger¬ 
manic  disputes  for  mastery  had  divided  the  Chris¬ 
tian  Church.  Columba’s  coming  quickly  changed 
the  landscape  of  pagan  Scotland.  First  in  the 
cities  and  then  in  almost  every  village,  the  cross, 
symbol  of  the  sacrificial  death  of  Him  who  came 
to  give  life  more  abundantly,  arose,  first  in  wood 
and  then  in  enduring  stone.  The  savage  people, 
whose  passions  and  appetites  had  so  closely  allied 
them  to  the  brutes,  were  transformed  and  uplifted. 

In  time  the  children  of  the  first  hearers  of  the 
gospel  message  were  converted,  not  only  outwardly 
to  the  acceptance  of  creeds, —  which  in  their  scho¬ 
lastic  form  they  could  not  at  first  understand,  — 
not  only  to  symbols,  which  are  ever  but  the  shad¬ 
ows  of  eternal  truths,  but  were  inwardly  trans¬ 
formed  in  the  renewing  of  their  minds.  Gradually 
they  became  so  changed  in  heart  and  life  that  we, 
after  having  seen  Christianity  in  very  many  of  its 
varied  ethnic  forms,  and  met  its  exemplars  in 
lands  not  a  few,  cannot  but  feel  that  in  the  home, 
the  school,  and  the  church,  there  is  no  land  on 
earth  in  which  Christianity  is  more  genuine  than 
in  Scotland.  Between  Columba’s  homilies  and 


130 


BONNIE  SCOTLAND 


“  The  Cotter’s  Saturday  Night  ”  long  centuries 
were  to  pass  slowly  away.  Nothing  in  literature, 
or  art,  or  history,  or  statistics,  furnishes  so  true  a 
picture  of  the  leavening  of  a  whole  nation,  or  illus¬ 
trates  more  finely  the  truth  that  among  believers, 
even  the  common  people  may  be  “  kings  and 
priests  unto  God,”  than  this  poem  of  Burns.  It 
is  a  revelation  of  “  Old  Scotia’s  grandeur.” 


CHAPTER  XIII 

THE  CALEDONIAN  CANAL  —  SCOTTISH  SPORTS 

The  long  inland  waterway,  of  which  the  “  Cale¬ 
donian  Canal  ”  is  the  main  portion,  unites  the 
waters  of  the  German  Ocean,  at  Moray  Firth, 
with  those  of  the  Atlantic,  which  wash  the  shores 
of  the  Island  of  Midi.  Considered  as  one  highway, 
this  trough,  which  forms  also  the  eastern  boundary 
of  “the  Highlands,”  was  made  in  part  by  nature 
and  in  part  by  art.  In  easy  and  safe  passage,  it 
saves  the  shipmasters  about  four  hundred  miles  of 
coasting  voyage  around  the  north  of  Great  Britain, 
through  the  stormy  Pentland  Firth  which  divides 
Caithness  from  the  Orkney  Islands.  The  total 
length  of  the  canal  proper  is  about  sixty  miles ; 
the  part  made  by  man’s  work  covering  twenty-two 
miles.  A  chain  of  fresh- water  lakes,  four  in  num¬ 
ber,  on  various  levels,  stretching  along  the  line  of 
the  great  glen  of  Scotland,  has  been  united  by 
water  ladders,  up  which  ships  are  lifted  and  by 
which  time  is  saved. 

The  route  of  the  canal  was  surveyed  in  1773 
by  James  Watt,  the  famous  engineer,  better  known 
in  the  annals  of  steam.  Following  an  Act  of  Par¬ 
liament  in  1803,  the  canal,  constructed  under  the 
supervision  of  Thomas  Telford,  was  opened  to 


132 


BONNIE  SCOTLAND 


navigation  in  1822.  There  are  twenty-eight  locks, 
each  having  the  standard  dimension  of  one  hun¬ 
dred  and  sixty  feet  length,  so  that  steamers  of 
comfortable  length  can  go  through.  It  was  on  one 
of  these,  the  Fusileer,  that  we  travelled  from  Oban 
to  Inverness,  on  another  we  moved  in  reverse 
order,  and  great  were  these  days.  One  was  sunny 
and  warm.  The  other  was  so  cloudy  and  cold  that 
a  grate  fire  at  the  hotel  at  Fort  William  felt  thor¬ 
oughly  delightful. 

On  the  second  of  these  inland  voyages  we  were 
on  the  steamer  Gondolier.  From  Oban  we  cross 
Loch  Linnhe,  which  forms  the  southern  end  of  the 
great  canal,  and  call  at  Ardgour.  At  the  head  of 
the  loch  we  stop  at  Fort  William,  formerly  called 
“the  Key  of  the  Highlands.”  It  is  now  a  town 
consisting  chiefly  of  a  long,  narrow  street,  full  of 
hotels.  The  fort  was  originally  erected  in  1655  by 
Cromwell’s  General  Monk  and  called  “  Kilmallie.” 
Under  the  reign  of  King  William,  in  1690,  Gen¬ 
eral  Hugh  McKay  enlarged  the  work  and  named 
it  after  the  Dutch  king,  the  town  being  called 
“  Maryburgh,”  in  honor  of  the  queen.  It  was  to  this 
place  that  the  perpetrators  of  the  massacre  at 
Glencoe  came  to  divide  their  spoil. 

Inl715and  again  in  1 746 ,  the  followers  of  “  Bon¬ 
nie  Prince  Charlie,”  the  Jacobites,  besieged  the 
place,  but  unsuccessfully.  No  remnants  of  the 
fort,  which  was  dismantled  in  1860,  now  remain, 
for  in  1890  the  ruins  were  wholly  removed  to  pro- 


THE  CALEDONIAN  CANAL 


133 


vide  room  for  the  iron  rails  and  railway  station ; 
for,  since  the  hills  come  down  close  together,  there 
is  not  much  level  real-estate  room.  It  illustrates 
the  sadness  of  tilings  to  find  here  great  distilleries 
which  are  large  enough  to  mar  the  landscape. 

The  town  produced  a  jJoet,  and  near  the  rail¬ 
way  station  is  an  obelisk  to  the  memory  of  Ewen 
MacLachlin,  who  wrote  verses  in  Gaelic.  Four 
miles  away  is  Ben  Nevis,  4406  feet  high,  the  loft¬ 
iest  mountain  in  the  British  Islands.  Later,  at 
Inverness,  I  met  a  Scottish  ai-tist  who  had  painted 
the  mountain  from  many  points  of  view,  but  he 
seemed  more  impressed  with  its  ugliness  and  shaggy 
character  than  with  its  beauty.  In  fact,  in  com¬ 
paring  the  artistic  work  of  this  painter  with  that 
of  Mr.  Robert  Allan,  who  transfers  to  canvas  the 
ideal  loveliness  of  the  ocean,  —  both  Scottish  and 
both  masterly,  —  we  recalled  that  inimitable  pas¬ 
sage  of  Ruskin,  contrasting  the  form  and  functions 
of  the  mountains  and  the  sea,  which  furnishes  so 
illuminating  a  commentary  on  the  passage  written 
by  an  ancient  admirer  of  nature  and  its  Creator, 
—  “  Thy  righteousness  is  like  the  great  mountains ; 
thy  judgments  are  a  great  deep.” 

We  noted,  in  our  summer  travels,  not  a  few 
men  of  the  easel.  A  mile  and  a  half  from  the  town 
is  the  grand  old  ruin  of  Inverlochie,  to  which  many 
landscape  painters  resort.  Other  places  of  interest 
are  the  site  of  the  battlefield  of  1645  and  the  castle 
of  Lord  Abinger,  built  in  the  Scottish  baronial  style. 


134 


BONNIE  SCOTLAND 


Yet  at  all  these  attractions  we  did  not  much 
more  than  glance,  despite  the  importunities  of  local 
guides,  who  sounded  their  praises  unremittingly. 
The  reason  for  which  we  stopped  for  a  day  or  two 
in  this  mountain  stronghold  was  not  to  study  mili¬ 
tary  fortification,  or  to  see  the  town,  which,  apart 
from  its  summer  life,  has  little  allurement  for  the 
tourist  who  values  time.  We  were  there  to  see 
the  Highland  games,  for  this  day  in  August  was 
the  date  set  for  “  the  gathering  of  the  clans  ”  of  the 
shire.  They  came  not  for  battle  as  in  the  old  times, 
hut  for  the  Lochaher  Highland  games,  such  as  the 
hammer-throwing,  putting  the  stone,  pole-vault¬ 
ing,  leaping,  and  jumping;  besides  the  various 
Scottish  dances,  such  as  prancing  and  stepping 
over  swords  and  the  Highland  fling. 

Heavy  rain  came  down  in  the  early  part  of  the 
morning,  and  during  the  whole  day  there  was  a 
drizzle,  making  the  air  heavy  with  dampness  and  the 
ground  meadows  miry.  We  supposed  of  course 
that  there  would  be  no  exhibition. 

Vain  thought!  What  does  a  Highlander  care 
about  moisture?  To  him  rain  is  but  an  old  friend, 
whom  he  would  no  more  think  of  speaking  against 
than  of  reviling  his  mother.  Indeed,  it  is  his  native 
element.  So  in  the  afternoon,  our  lady,  donning 
her  mackintosh,  which  she  had  just  purchased  at 
Oban,  and  I  with  umbrella  and  overcoat  splashed 
over  the  fields  to  the  hiUside  and  meadows,  where 
thousands  of  people  were  gathered  together.  There 


THE  CALEDONIAN  CANAL 


135 


may  have  been  other  umbrellas  in  use,  but  they 
were  not  conspicuous,  and  certainly  not  numerous. 
Some  of  the  athletic  performances  were  admirable 
and  the  achievements  of  manly  strength  were  worthy 
of  the  applause  which  they  so  generously  received. 

Yet  an  alien,  one  not  of  the  heather,  cannot 
be  rapturous  in  honest  praise  of  the  dances,  at 
least  those  wliich  were  prolonged  to  the  full  and 
apparently  appropriate  time,  and  which  the  spec¬ 
tators  seemed  greatly  to  enjoy.  It  was  something, 
no  doubt,  to  behold  an  able-bodied  man  in  a  dress 
that  quite  equalled  that  of  the  peacock,  jumping 
about  among  the  crossed  lines  of  naked  steel  with¬ 
out  getting  his  toes  cut  off.  There  was  undoubtedly 
some  grace  also  in  the  way  he  curved  his  arms 
above  his  head.  Doubtless  the  very  swish  of  his  kilts 
and  the  sight  of  his  bare  and  hairy  legs  filled  some 
bosoms  with  emotions  of  envy,  accompanied,  as 
they  were,  with  what  seemed  blood-curdling  cries, 
the  relics  of  old  savagery.  Probably  my  education 
had  been  neglected,  for  I  should  not  wish  to  at¬ 
tend  these  exhibitions  too  frequently,  unless  paid 
handsomely  for  the  labor  incurred. 

Indeed,  my  feelings  of  appreciation  were  very 
much  on  the  same  par  with  those  experiences  when, 
in  Japan,  we  were  expected  to  sit  on  the  mats  with 
our  lower  limbs  doubled  up,  or  tied  in  a  knot, 
during  hours  of  personal  agony.  These  classic  per¬ 
formances  were  manifestly  full  of  delight  to  the 
cultured  admirers  of  pose  and  motion,  in  the  “No” 


136 


BONNIE  SCOTLAND 


dances,  though  insufferably  tedious  to  those  whose 
legs  had  fallen  asleep.  Even  in  later  times,  when 
chairs  were  provided  and  the  accessories  were  sug¬ 
gestive  of  comfort,  there  was  not  enough  in  the 
dancing  of  the  “No”  operatic  performers  or  in 
the  antics  of  the  geisha,  to  serve  as  magnets. 

It  was  easy  to  explain,  however,  why  and  where¬ 
fore  Scottish  cheeks  are  so  suggestive  of  rose  gar¬ 
dens,  and  also  why  consumption  is  so  common. 
The  rain  did  indeed  redden  the  complexions,  but 
as  to  the  number  of  cases  of  pneumonia,  or  tuber¬ 
culosis,  which  ensued  after  exposure  on  this  chilly 
day,  we  cannot  inform  our  readers,  not  having 
the  statistics  at  hand.  To  this,  however,  we  can 
testify,  that  when  we  got  back  to  Room  No.  6,  of 
the  W averley  Hotel,  we  were  the  subjects  of  a  sort 
of  telepathy  that  enabled  us  to  feel  profound  sym¬ 
pathy  with  Peary  when  in  search  of  the  North 
Pole.  Never  did  a  grate  full  of  live  coals  seem 
more  welcome.  We  almost  literally  hung  up  our¬ 
selves,  or  at  least  what  had  been  our  outward  sem¬ 
blance,  to  dry.  When  properly  desiccated,  we  re¬ 
tired  early,  in  order  the  more  to  enjoy  the  glorious 
island  voyage  among  the  Highlands  which  we 
knew  awaited  us  next  morning. 

It  was  genuine  Scotch  weather  when  we  woke 
up  and  looked  out  upon  a  landscape  dominated  by 
Ben  Nevis,  of  whose  towering  form  we  could  catch 
glimpses  now  and  then  through  the  cloud  rifts, 
while  on  the  hills  around  us  lay  patches  and  lines  of 


THE  CALEDONIAN  CANAL 


137 


snow.  At  times  we  were  in  that  “  Scotch  mist,”  in 
which,  as  hostile  critics  declare,  the  metaphysicians 
who  live  north  of  the  Tweed  do  at  times  get  lost. 
Just  when  it  began  or  left  off  raining  might  have 
puzzled  a  weather  bureau  man  to  tell.  As  for  our¬ 
selves,  we  could  have  taken  oath  as  to  our  own 
inability  if  we  had  been  called  upon  in  court.  If  a 
jury  had  been  empanelled,  then  and  there,  to  de¬ 
termine  whether  it  was  or  was  not  raining,  the  ver¬ 
dict  in  either  case  would  undoubtedly  have  been,  as 
became  the  country,  “  Not  proven.” 

Neverthless,  after  we  had  crossed  the  gangway 
of  the  boat,  a  sister  ship  to  the  Gondolier  of  yester¬ 
day,  and  looked  over  the  landscape,  from  both  star¬ 
board  and  port  side,  we  began  to  think  it  was  true, 
as  Professor  Blaikie  once  said,  that  “  Scotland  is 
like  a  pebble,  it  requires  rain  to  bring  out  its  colors.” 
It  is  certain  that  many  spots  in  this  charming  glen 
did  look  like  the  water  lines,  waves,  and  layers  of 
varied  tints  which  we  have  seen  on  the  surfaces  of 
chalcedony. 

When  at  the  lapidary’s  I  used  to  watch  the 
process  of  cutting  in  half  a  stone,  rolled  for  many 
ages  mayhap  and  ground  daily  on  the  outside  by 
glacial  or  stream  action,  it  seemed  for  a  few  sec¬ 
onds  as  if  the  diamond  saw,  revolving  with  its  irre¬ 
sistible  edge,  was  to  cut  in  vain  and  reveal  noth¬ 
ing.  From  an  outward  view  all  beauty  was  hidden 
and  the  pebble  seemed  thoroughly  ugly  and  unin¬ 
teresting.  Nor  could  I  guess  that  treasures  were 


138 


BONNIE  SCOTLAND 


hidden  in  the  interior ;  but  when  the  hemispheres 
were  in  our  hands,  emerging  from  their  baptism 
in  clean  water,  there  was  revealed,  if  the  stone 
were  hollow,  a  grotto  of  crystals,  rich  in  Nature’s 
heraldry  of  color,  telling  the  story  of  its  fiery  past. 
It  seemed  a  more  wonderful  story,  in  fact,  than 
that  of  Ali  Baba  and  Open  Sesame  in  fiction.  Or, 
if  solid,  and,  like  Venus,  born  from  water,  and 
formed  in  slow  deposit  of  liquid  instead  of  from 
the  cosmic  flames,  the  curvilinear  strata  white,  ruby 
red,  black,  yellow,  and  brown,  seemed  to  excel  in 
splendor. 

Even  so,  to-day  Scotland  revealed  herself  as  a 
new  wonderland.  The  Caledonian  pebble  seemed 
a  sapphire.  For  when,  toward  noon,  something  like 
dry  weather  arrived  and  sunbursts  were  occasional, 
Scotland  looked  as  fresh  as  her  maidens  and  al¬ 
most  as  beautiful.  We  passed  cataracts  in  full 
activity.  One,  which  we  did  not  see,  ninety  feet 
high  and  probably  the  finest  on  the  great  island, 
was  near  Fort  Augustus.  Beyond  this,  called 
“Foyers,”  was  another  fall  thirty  feet  high.  To 
one,  however,  who  has  seen  Niagara  a  hundred 
times,  and  who  dwells  near  Taughannock  Falls, 
which  are  thirty  feet  higher,  and  near  Lake  Ca¬ 
yuga,  with  two  hundred  waterfalls  within  a  radius 
of  twenty  miles,  a  cataract  must  be  out  of  the 
ordinary  to  be  visited  at  the  expenditure  of  time 
and  money,  when  both  these  assets  are  limited  and 
things  more  novel  are  to  be  seen.  In  our  home 


THE  CALEDONIAN  CANAL 


139 


town  of  Ithaca,  as  we  two  Americans  mused,  in 
that  conceit  and  love  of  business  peculiar  to  our 
nationals,  we  have  a  “  local  Niagara  ”  over  eighty 
feet  high.  Why  visit  Foyers  ? 

At  one  of  the  lochs,  we  saw  an  Irishman,  with 
the  popular  and  traditional  face,  shape,  and  garb ; 
that  is,  of  the  kind  we  read  about  in  novels  and 
see  on  the  stage.  He  had  on  brogans,  short 
breeches  split  in  the  end  at  the  knees,  woollen 
stockings,  a  small  and  short-tailed  coat,  a  stumpy 
shillaly,  a  narrow-brimmed  high  hat,  with  pipe 
stuck  in  the  front  band  and  a  shamrock  set  in  an¬ 
other  place.  Besides  bog-trotters’  capers  and  the 
dancing  of  an  Irish  jig,  he  sang  songs  which  re¬ 
called  boyhood’s  memories  in  Philadelphia.  After 
the  potato  famine  in  Ireland,  the  Emerald  Isle 
was  semi-depopulated,  and  the  emigrant  ships, 
despite  the  Know-Nothings,  set  their  prows  in 
fleets  to  the  Land  of  Hope.  I  often  saw  seven 
ships  a  day  bringing  over  the  raw  material  of  cit¬ 
izenship.  Some  of  the  girls,  as  we  learned  from 
our  household  experience  in  employing  domestics, 
had  never  gone  up  —  though  on  ship  and  with  us, 
at  first,  they  came  backwards  down  —  a  pair  of 
stairs.  Such  green  but  promising  maids  had  never 
dwelt  in  a  house  built  with  more  than  one  story, 
or  touched  a  faucet,  or  lighted  a  gas  jet.  The 
Irishman’s  song,  in  which  his  mention  of  Phila¬ 
delphia  was  mnemonic,  was  delightful  to  hear. 
Another  song,  which  as  a  child  I  heard  my  fa<- 


140 


BONNIE  SCOTLAND 


ther’s  coal-drivers  and  coal-heavers  sing,  told  of 
travels  nearer  home,  and  of  this  I  caught  the 
words.  They  ran  thus  :  — 

“  I  cut  my  stick  and  greased  my  brogues  — 

’T  was  in  tbe  month  of  May,  sir: 

And  off  to  England  I  did  go 
To  mow  the  corn  and  hay,  sir.” 

With  this  son  of  Erin  was  a  dirty  and  very 
skinny  Highland  lad,  in  kilts  and  other  checkered 
woollen  garments  much  the  worse  for  wear.  He 
also  danced  what  was  probably  a  Highland  fling, 
though  an  almost  vicious  desire  possessed  some 
of  us  to  fling  him  into  the  bathtub. 

It  is  a  good  sign  for  the  future  of  a  noble  race 
that  the  manufacture  of  soap  occupies  many  peo¬ 
ple  in  Scotland.  Though  the  glens  are  full  of  dis¬ 
tilleries,  which  are  sure  to  create  poverty  and 
dirt,  perhaps  we  must  consider  soap-boiling  as  a 
very  honorable  occupation  and  the  manufacture 
of  this  cleansing  material  as  an  antidote  to  some 
of  the  mischief  done  by  John  Barleycorn.  How 
terrible  is  the  scourge  of  alcohol  in  Great  Brit¬ 
ain  was  revealed,  as  never  before,  during  the  war 
crisis  of  1915,  when  even  an  appeal  to  patriot¬ 
ism  could  not  make  the  sodden  workmen  give 
up  their  cups.  My  kinsman,  the  United  States 
Consul  at  Dundee,  showed  me  the  statistics  of 
the  liquor  traffic  in  Scotland  alone,  which  were 
appalling.  Even  Christians,  supposed  to  be  de¬ 
vout  in  worship  and  genuine  in  faith,  invest  their 


THE  CALEDONIAN  CANAL 


141 


money,  and  some  o£  them  exclusively,  in  the  dis¬ 
tilleries,  thus  upsetting  at  one  end  what  the  gos¬ 
pel  agencies  are  doing  at  the  other.  The  British 
Empire  is  thus  handicapped  in  the  race  for  prog¬ 
ress.  Yet  who  from  the  glorious  Yankee  nation 
can  throw  a  stone,  especially  when  he  sees  the 
“  American  bar,”  “  American  long  drinks,”  and 
“  American  mixed  drinks  ”  flauntingly  advertised 
in  Europe?  We  have  heard,  however,  that  the 
“long  drinks”  are  soft  and  harmless. 

While  propelled  along  Loch  Ness,  an  earth- 
cleft,  narrow,  deep,  and  twenty-four  miles  in 
length,  we  are  again  reminded  of  our  home  near 
Lake  Cayuga,  fairest  in  the  Iroquois  chain  of 
“  finger  lakes  ”  in  the  Empire  State,  and  one  of 
the  deepest ;  for  on  either  side  of  the  Caledonian 
Canal  are  metamorphic  rocks  rising  out  of  crystal 
clear  water,  and  beneath,  in  the  Byronic  profun¬ 
dity  of  “a  thousand  feet  in  depth  below,”  the 
rocky  bottom.  Grander  and  more  rugged,  how¬ 
ever,  is  the  scenery,  for  the  mountains  are  here 
higher,  even  as  the  water  is  deeper,  than  in  Iro¬ 
quois  land.  The  Scottish  Highlands  are  the  frag¬ 
ments  of  the  earliest  land  that  emerged  above  the 
prehistoric  oceans.  For  centuries  they  formed  a 
boundary  in  ethnology,  politics,  and  religion,  even 
as  in  the  aeons  of  geology  they  form  a  frontier  of 
chronology. 

When  ovir  voyage  ends,  we  find  that  it  is  some 
distance  between  the  stopping-place  of  the  steamer 


142 


BONNIE  SCOTLAND 


at  Muirtown  and  Inverness.  Since  names  and 
sounds  are  continually  playing  tricks,  summoning 
from  the  privacy  of  memory  forms  long  ago  for¬ 
gotten  and  ever  retreating  in  the  perspective  of 
the  past,  I  recall  my  old  Scotch  professor  at  the 
Central  High  School  in  Philadelphia.  That  good 
man  MacMurtrie  —  with  a  name  meaning,  I  sup¬ 
pose,  of,  or  from,  or  son  of  the  Muirtrie,  or  Moor- 
tree  clan  —  first  introduced  thousands  of  youth, 
through  his  lexicon,  his  fascinating  lectures,  and 
his  choice  cabinets,  to  the  great  world  of  nature 
and  science,  and  to  the  rapturous  joy  of  discovery 
of  order  and  beauty  in  the  mathematics  of  the  uni¬ 
verse. 

From  Muirtown,  we  take  the  hotel  omnibus 
and  soon  enter  “  Rose-red  Inverness,”  the  bright 
and  lively  town,  which  in  August  bursts  into  the 
full  bloom  of  its  summer  activities. 


CHAPTER  XIV 

INVERNESS:  THE  CAPITAL  OF  THE  HIGHLANDS 

One  of  the  first  things  we  noticed  in  this  sum¬ 
mer  capital  of  the  Highlands  was  a  male  being, 
whom  Thackeray  would  have  liked  to  cage  for 
his  “  Book  of  Snobs.”  From  the  monocle,  or  win¬ 
dow  in  his  eye,  and  from  certain  physical  peculiar¬ 
ities,  and  even  pronunciation  in  his  speech,  which 
he  was  helpless  to  conceal,  I  should  imagine  that 
he  was  really  a  London  cockney  masquerading  in 
a  Highlander’s  costume.  According  to  the  fad  or 
fashion  of  vacation  time,  and  appropriate  for  hot 
weather,  he  was  encased  in  the  complete  pavonine 
dress  of  the  old  days  of  clans  and  claymores,  but 
the  motor  within  hardly  suited  the  machine.  With 
his  buckled  shoes,  checkered  leggings,  —  in  the 
side  of  one  of  which  was  stuck  a  long  dirk,  having 
a  silver  handle  holding  a  Cairngorm  stone  set  in 
the  top,  —  with  considerable  public  exposure  of 
the  cuticle  around  and  above  his  skinny  knees, 
with  gay  kilts,  decorated  pouch,  shoulder-brooch 
of  silver,  coat,  plaid,  bonnet,  and  feather,  the 
pageant  of  costume  seemed  vastly  more  imposing 
than  the  man  within. 

This  creature  seemed  a  walking  museum  of 
Scottish  antiquities.  All  his  unwonted  parapher- 


144 


BONNIE  SCOTLAND 


nalia,  however,  did  not  cure  his  gawkiness  or  pre¬ 
vent  impending  disaster  to  his  pride.  In  trying  to 
pass  by  some  baskets  belonging  to  a  huckster,  and 
full,  if  I  remember  aright,  of  turnips,  his  dirk- 
handle  caught  in  the  end  of  a  loose  hoop.  “  Oh, 
what  a  fall  was  there,  my  countrymen !  ”  In  a 
moment  one  would  have  taken  him  for  a  measur¬ 
ing-rod.  At  least  six  feet  of  the  gawk,  more  or 
less,  lay  on  the  soil  of  what  may  have  been  his 
beloved  native  land.  Nevertheless,  in  all  Chris¬ 
tian  charity,  we  tried  our  best  to  appear  blind, 
and  resisted  the  temptation  to  laugh. 

I  am  bound  to  say,  however,  that  I  saw  some 
solid-looking  citizens  of  Inverness  wear  the  kilt 
and  Highland  coat  most  gracefully.  Moreover,  in 
the  evening,  when  some  of  the  Gordon  High¬ 
landers,  —  I  believe  they  were,  —  whose  barracks 
were  not  far  away,  rambled  through  the  streets, 
they  certainly  showed  that  the  man  and  the 
clothes  had  grown  together. 

One  could  easily  see  how  well  adapted  was  such 
a  dress  to  a  rough  campaign  in  a  mountainous 
country.  One  scarcely  wondered  why,  when  fight¬ 
ing  in  hilly  regions,  the  Highlander  was  usually 
the  superior  of  the  average  infantryman.  Never¬ 
theless,  some  comical  chapters  in  eighteenth-cen¬ 
tury  American  history  come  into  mind.  When  we 
remembered  that  modern  footgear  was  strange  to 
men  who  had  been  used  to  the  ancient  brogues 
and  to  whom  the  proverb  “  as  easy  as  an  old 


INVERNESS 


145 


shoe  ”  was  a  novelty,  the  story  is  quite  credible 
that,  in  the  repulse  by  the  French  of  the  attack 
made  by  the  British  army  under  Abercrombie  at 
Ticonderoga,  in  1758,  when  the  Highlanders  were 
forced  to  retreat  from  Fort  Carillon,  there  were 
thousands  of  shoes  left  stuck  in  the  mud  when  the 
British  ran  to  their  boats. 

We  could  see  at  a  glance  that  Inverness  was  the 
centre  of  traffic  and  travel  during  the  summer 
months,  when  tourists  made  the  northeast  and 
west  of  cool  Scotland  very  lively  for  a  few  weeks. 
We  looked  in  at  the  Town  Hall,  near  which  stands 
the  old  town  cross.  At  the  foot  of  this  is  the 
lozenge-shaped  stone,  called  the  “  Stone  of  the 
Tubs,”  reverenced  as  the  palladium  of  Inverness. 
It  was  anciently  useful  from  its  having  served  as 
a  resting-place  for  women  carrying  water  from  the 
river. 

It  is  a  sight  for  a  stranger  in  the  Highlands  to 
see  the  washerwomen  in  their  fullest  muscular  ac¬ 
tivity  on  summer  days,  when  they  renovate  the 
linen  of  the  tourists.  Why  men  should  want  to  pay 
money  to  see  the  Salome  and  other  dances  popular 
in  Christian  countries  is  a  mystery  to  some  of  us, 
when  among  the  laundry- women  the  limits  of  cu- 
ticular  exposure  are  reached.  They  leap  in  frenzy 
upon  the  masses  of  linen  in  the  suds  which  fill  the 
deep  tubs,  but  the  results  justify  the  use  of  these 
primitive  washing-machines. 

Curiously  enough,  this  part  of  Scotland  is  not 


146 


BONNIE  SCOTLAND 


wholly  free  from  earthquakes,  for  which  the  ge¬ 
ologists  give  reasons.  In  the  seismic  disturbances 
of  1816,  the  spire  of  the  old  jail,  one  hundred  and 
fifty  feet  high,  was  curiously  twisted.  Now  this 
spire  serves  as  a  belfry  for  the  town  clock.  West¬ 
ward  from  the  Ness  is  the  higher  ground,  called 
the  “  Hill  of  the  Fairies,”  where  lies  the  beautiful 
city  of  the  dead  —  one  of  the  most  attractively 
situated  cemeteries  in  the  whole  of  Britain.  On 
the  athletic  grounds  near  the  town,  at  the  end  of 
September,  are  held  the  Scottish  games  and  ath¬ 
letic  contests,  the  most  important  in  the  country. 
Four  bridges  span  the  river.  Altogether,  our  im¬ 
pressions  of  the  town  were  very  pleasing. 

But  Inverness  has  a  history  also.  It  is  believed 
to  have  been  one  of  those  primitive  strongholds  — 
in  this  case,  of  the  Piets  —  which  were  so  often 
to  be  found  at  the  junction  of  waters.  To  this 
place  came  St.  Columba,  in  the  year  565.  Here, 
too,  was  the  castle  of  Macbeth,  in  which  he  mur¬ 
dered  Duncan,  which  stood  until  it  was  demolished 
by  Malcolm  Canmore,  who  built  on  its  site  a  larger 
one.  William  the  Lion,  in  1214,  granted  the  town 
a  charter,  by  which  it  became  a  royal  burgh.  Of 
the  Dominican  abbey,  founded  in  1233,  nothing 
remains.  The  town  was  burned  in  1411,  by  Don¬ 
ald  of  the  Isles,  and  when  fifteen  years  later, 
James  I  held  a  parliament  in  the  castle,  Scottish 
statecraft  was  still  in  a  primitive  stage  of  evolu¬ 
tion,  for  three  of  the  northern  chieftains  smn- 


INVERNESS 


147 


moned  to  the  council  were  executed  for  daring  to 
assert  their  independence.  In  1652,  Queen  Mary 
was  denied  admittance  into  the  castle,  but  she  re¬ 
membered  the  slight  and  caused  the  governor  to 
be  hanged  afterwards.  Cromwell  came  hither  also 
and  built  a  great  fort.  In  Inverness  gathered  the 
Jacobites  who  followed  both  the  Old  and  the  Young 
Pretender.  Inverness  has  had  its  ups  and  downs, 
and,  as  a  Western  orator  once  declared  of  his  dis¬ 
trict,  has,  besides  raising  much  ham,  raised  also 
much  more  of  what  General  Sherman  named  as 
the  synonym  for  war. 

To  come  to  Inverness  without  visiting  Culloden 
would  be  like  going  to  Rome  without  seeing  St. 
Peters ;  for  at  Culloden,  where  was  fought  one  of 
the  decisive  Rattles  of  the  world,  the  death-blow 
was  given  to  Scottish  feudalism.  There  the  clan 
system  was  knocked  to  pieces.  Then,  also,  for  the 
benefit  and  blessing  of  the  whole  world,  the  High¬ 
landers  were  scattered  over  the  earth,  to  do  what 
they  certainly  have  done  well  —  a  goodly  share  of 
the  world’s  work. 

Now  for  CuUoden!  We —  that  is,  four  men  of 
us  —  hired  a  horse,  driver,  and  carriage,  and  rode 
out  to  the  desolate  moor,  which  is  usually  called 
“  Culloden  ”  by  strangers  and  “  Drummossie 
Moor  ”  by  the  natives.  It  is  a  tableland  lying  six 
miles  northeast  of  Inverness  and  not  far  from  the 
Moray  Firth.  As  we  approached  it,  we  eould  dis¬ 
cern  the  sunken  lines  of  the  trenches,  in  which 


148 


BONNIE  SCOTLAND 


about  eighteen  hundred  of  the  clansmen,  killed  in 
battle,  were  buried.  In  1881,  these  trenches  of  the 
different  clans  were  marked  by  rough  memorial 
stones  giving  the  clan  names.  At  one  part  of  the 
field  was  a  stream  of  water,  to  which  the  poor 
wounded  wretches  crawled  to  slake  that  horrible 
thirst  which  comes  so  quickly  to  a  soldier  who  has 
lost  blood  and  whose  veins  are  drying  up. 

On  one  side  was  a  cairn  of  stones  about  twenty 
feet  high,  reared  to  mark  the  battle,  in  the  front 
of  which  is  set  a  tablet  giving  the  historical  facts 
and  date.  But  what  touched  us  most  deeply,  as 
Americans,  was  a  colossal  wreath  of  flowers  and 
greenery  hung  near  the  top.  This  token,  though 
faded  and  its  purple  ribbons  stained  by  three 
months  of  summer  rain  and  storm,  told  of  “  hands 
beyond  sea”  and  hearts  that  were  saddened  at  the 
name  of  CuUoden.  I  asked  who  had  hung  that 
wreath  upon  the  cairn  and  was  told  that  it  had 
been  sent  by  Scotsmen  in  America,  whose  ances¬ 
tors  had  fallen  in  that  awful  battle  of  April  16, 
1746,  in  which  the  hopes  of  “  Bonnie  Prince 
Charlie”  were  shattered  and  those  of  the  House 
of  Stuart  to  reattain  power  came  to  an  end.  I 
understood  that  such  a  floral  tribute  was  offered 
annually. 

Some  distance  away  was  the  place  where  the 
English  cavalry  were  held  in  reserve,  to  charge 
upon  the  fugitives  and  slaughter  them  after  they 
had  broken  and  fled.  Near  the  field  also  was  a 


THE  CAIKX  AT  CUELOUEN 


INVERNESS 


149 


large  flat  rock,  which  the  Pretender  had  mounted 
to  see  the  action  and  scan  its  results.  From  this 
point  of  vantage,  he  fled,  to  suffer  untold  hard¬ 
ships,  while  wandering  for  weeks,  disguised  as  a 
woman,  under  the  care  of  the  heroic  Flora  Mac¬ 
donald.  He  was  finally  able  to  reach  the  French 
ships,  then  lying  off  the  coast  for  him,  by  which 
he  was  able  to  get  back  to  the  Continent,  there  to 
end  his  days  as  a  drunkard. 

Cumberland,  the  British  general,  knew  that  a 
failure  to  win  on  this  field,  or  a  drawn  battle, 
would  mean  a  long-continued  guerilla  warfare  in 
the  Highlands.  So  he  gave  orders  to  put  to  the 
sword  all  the  clansmen  known  to  have  been  on  the 
field.  As  we  rode  back  to  Inverness,  over  which 
the  English  cavalry  had  thundered  after  the  battle, 
the  intelligent  driver  pointed  out  more  than  one 
place,  such  as  blacksmith’s  shops,  rocks,  and  hol¬ 
lows,  where  fugitives  had  hidden  and  whence  they 
had  been  dragged  out  to  be  killed. 

CuUoden  enables  us  to  see  what  war  was  to  the 
Highlanders,  what  they  meant  by  a  campaign,  and 
how  far  these  men  of  the  claymore,  broadsword, 
and  target  had  advanced  in  military  science.  The 
idea  of  these  stalwart  warriors,  trained  in  clan 
feuds  and  inheriting  the  prejudices  and  toditions 
handed  down  to  them  from  ancestors,  was  to  go 
out  in  summer  time,  without  special  equipment, 
commissary  train,  or  depot  of  supplies.  They  would 
make  a  foray,  fight  a  battle  or  two,  burn  the  ene- 


150 


BONNIE  SCOTLAND 


my’s  houses,  drive  off  some  cattle,  and  then  come 
home  to  divide  the  spoil  —  a  system  hardly  higher 
in  dignity  than  that  of  the  North  American  In¬ 
dian  highlanders,  the  Iroquois. 

Tlie  men  of  the  glens  cared  little  for  fire¬ 
arms,  whether  musket  or  cannon.  Their  favorite 
weapons  from  of  old  were  the  dirk  and  the  clay¬ 
more.  The  latter  was  a  long-handled,  double-edged 
sword  weighing  from  five  to  seven  pounds,  with  a 
handle  often  a  foot  long  and  with  one  cross-bar  for 
a  hilt.  This  claymore,  in  which  they  gloried,  was 
a  weapon  quite  different  from  the  later  single- 
edged  and  basket-hilted  sword,  which  did  not  come 
into  use  until  well  into  the  eighteenth  century. 
Their  one  idea  of  fighting  was  to  make  an  onset 
and  come  to  close  quarters.  On  their  left  arm 
they  carried  the  target,  or  round  shield,  made 
of  light,  tough  wood,  covered  with  buU’s  hide, 
stretched  in  one  or  more  thicknesses  and  with 
boss  or  studs,  and  sometimes  furnished  with  a 
rim  of  metal,  or  armed  with  a  sharp  point  in  the 
middle.  With  this  defence,  protecting  more  or  less 
their  faces  and  body,  they  rushed  upon  the  foe,  in 
order  to  be  free  at  once  to  use,  in  older  times, 
their  claymores,  or  double-handed  blades,  or,  in 
later  days,  the  broadsword  in  close  combat.  When 
fighting  with  infantry  armed  with  smooth-bore 
muskets  and  bayonets,  they  could,  after  the  first 
volley,  fired  at  more  or  less  close  range,  dash  into 
the  files.  Before  the  soldiers  could  reload,  the 


INVERNESS 


151 


Highlanders  would  be  upon  them,  dashing  aside 
the  bayonet  thrust.  Then,  with  stabbing  or  cutting 
blow,  the  clansmen  slaughtered  their  foes  and  thus 
made  firearms  of  little  account. 

It  is  true  that  when  large  levies  were  made,  as 
in  the  earlier  centuries,  the  Scottish  spearmen 
were  massed  together  and  made  a  formidable  front, 
though  as  a  rule,  the  English  archers,  with  their 
long-range  missiles,  were  able  to  work  havoc  among 
the  Scots,  and  thus  prevent  them  from  getting  into 
close  hand-to-hand  action.  Thus,  the  Southrons 
more  than  once  ruined  the  chances  and  hopes  of 
their  northern  foes.  In  archery,  the  Scots  never 
were  able  to  compete  with  the  English. 

Even  when,  later,  some  of  the  Highlanders  pos¬ 
sessed  cannon,  they  were  apt  to  look  with  contempt 
upon  anything  which  did  not  permit  them  to  charge 
in  a  rush  and  come  to  close  quarters.  In  fact,  it 
was  this  unintelligent  tenacity  in  holding  on  to  a 
war  equipment  which,  even  to  the  claymore,  to  say 
nothing  of  the  target  and  ordinary  spear,  had 
been  discarded  in  other  countries,  that  brought 
the  clans  to  final  destruction  at  Culloden.  On  the 
Continent  improvements  were  made,  first  in  favor 
of  the  pike  and  then  of  the  musket,  with  the  drop¬ 
ping  of  anything  like  a  shield,  or  defence,  which 
required  the  use  of  one  hand  and  which  could  not 
resist  a  bullet.  It  was  a  thorough  knowledge  of 
the  Higldander’s  conceit  and  conservatism,  which 
had  become  his  weakness  and  was  ultimately  to  be 


152 


BONNIE  SCOTLAND 


his  ruin,  as  well  as  the  perception  of  the  change 
in  battle  tactics  and  the  relative  merits  of  bayonet 
and  broadsword  fighting,  that  enabled  the  Duke 
of  Cumberland,  then  only  twenty-four  years  of 
age,  to  win  a  decisive  victory,  such  as  older  men 
of  experience  had  repeatedly  tried  to  gain,  but  to 
no  purpose. 

Chambers  wrote,  in  1830,  “The  field  of  Culloden 
yet  bears  witness  to  the  carnage  of  which  it  was 
the  scene.  In  the  midst  of  its  black  and  blasted 
heath,  various  little  eminences  are  to  be  seen  dis¬ 
playing  a  lively  verdure,  but  too  unequivocally  ex¬ 
pressive  of  the  dreadful  chaos.  They  are  so  distinct 
and  well  defined  that  the  eye  may  almost,  by 
their  means,  trace  the  position  of  the  armies,  or  at 
least  discover  where  the  fight  was  most  warmly 
contested.” 

The  way  toward  Inverness,  otherwise  an  unim¬ 
proved,  secondary  road,  is  fringed  with  many  dole¬ 
ful  memorials.  There  the  daisy  and  bluebell  of 
Scotland  have  selected  their  abode,  he  tells  us,  as  if 
resolved  to  sentinel  forever  the  last  resting-place  of 
their  country’s  heroes.  Not  infrequently  modern 
curiosity  hunters  have  violated  the  graves  in  order 
to  secure  some  relic  of  the  ill-fated  warriors,  to  show 
as  a  wonder  in  the  halls  of  the  Sassenach.  The 
Gaels,  with  nobler  sentiments,  have  come  more 
frequently  to  translate  the  bones  of  their  friends 
to  consecrated  ground  afar,  in  their  own  dear 
glens  of  the  west.  “  But  enough  and  more  than 


INVERNESS 


153 


enough  yet  remains  to  show  where  Scotland  fought 
her  last  battle  and  the  latest  examples  of  her  ancient 
chivalry  fell  to  feed  the  eagles  and  to  redeem  the 
desert.” 

Inverness  in  1745,  as  Chambers  describes  it, 
was  a  royal  burgh  in  the  vicinity  of  a  half-civilized 
territory  not  yet  emancipated  from  feudal  domin¬ 
ion.  Though  a  seaport,  it  had  only  a  slight  local 
commerce.  The  town  bore  every  external  mark  of 
wretchedness.  Its  people,  even  its  shopkeepers, 
wore  the  Highland  dress,  in  all  its  squalor  and 
scantiness ;  for  the  Highland  plaids  which  we  see 
to-day,  in  silk  and  wool,  and  sold  in  shops  of  lux¬ 
urious  appointment,  are  vastly  different  from  the 
home-made  fabrics  of  a  century  or  more  ago. 
The  Inverness  people  generally  spoke  Gaelic.  A 
wheeled  vehicle  had  never  yet  been  seen  within 
the  town,  nor  was  there  a  turnpike  road  within 
forty  miles  of  its  walls.  Some  contact  by  sea  with 
France  and  the  dwelling  in  winter  time  of  the 
Highland  gentry  in  the  town  shed  some  gleams 
of  intelligence  over  the  minds  of  the  kilted  burgh¬ 
ers.  Yet  when  the  Young  Chevalier  took  up  his 
residence  at  the  house  of  Lady  Drummuir,  hers 
was  the  only  dwelling  that  had  even  one  room 
without  a  bed  in  it. 

It  was  from  Inverness  that  “  Bonnie  Prince 
Charlie,”  in  1745,  marched  out  with  his  Highland¬ 
ers  to  the  gage  of  battle  at  Culloden,  of  which  we 
tell  in  another  chapter.  At  neither  of  our  two  visits 


164 


BONNIE  SCOTLAND 


to  the  Capital  of  the  Highlands  had  we  hosts  or 
hostesses  to  invite  us  to  drink  with  them  the  inevi¬ 
table  cup  of  afternoon  tea,  without  which  a  Brit¬ 
isher  does  not  feel  that  the  island  is  safe,  or  that 
Britannia  rules  the  waves.  So  we  must  needs  be 
satisfied  with  hotel  service  for  our  Bohea  and  cups, 
though  we  are  bound  to  say  that  the  decoction  was 
excellent  and  the  white-capped  and  snowy-aproned 
maid’s  voice  was  low  and  sweet. 

As  we  chatted  over  our  excursion  to  Drummossie 
Moor,  we  recalled  that  the  victor  of  CuUoden,  on 
arriving  at  Inverness,  found  not  only  a  consider¬ 
able  quantity  of  provisions,  which  had  been  pre¬ 
pared  for  the  poor  Highlanders,  but  many  of  the 
Jacobite  ladies,  who  had  attended  their  husbands 
during  the  campaign.  They  had  just  enjoyed  their 
afternoon  tea-drinking  and  were  preparing  for  an 
evening  ball,  at  which  the  Prince  and  his  officers 
were  to  be  entertained,  after  his  expected  victory. 
It  was  the  entrance  of  the  fugitives,  who  informed 
them  of  the  fatal  reverse  their  friends  had  met 
with,  which  caused  an  abrupt  change  of  plans. 

Yet  the  lovers  of  the  lost  cause  cease  not  their 
celebrations.  “  Come  o’er  the  stream,  Charlie !  ” 
To  this  day,  in  the  Highland  glens,  one  can  hear 
old  women  singing  to  the  tune  of  “  Bonnie  Prince 
Charlie,”  inviting  him  to  “come  over  the  border,” 
and  feast  himself  on  “  the  red  deer  and  the  black 
steer,”  promising,  also,  that  his  loyal  followers 
wiU  “range  on  the  heather,  with  bonnet  and 


INVERNESS 


165 


feather.”  The  remnant  of  English  Jacobites  still 
drink  to  the  health  of  the  Stuarts  and  hold  an  an¬ 
nual  celebration  in  memoriam^  in  London  and  in 
Philadelphia. 


CHAPTER  XV 

“  BONNIE  PRINCE  CHARLIE  ” 

Mary  Queen  of  Scots,  and  Bonnie  Prince 
Charlie  !  How  they  live  with  us  yet,  casting  their 
spell  over  the  centuries  1 

If  there  is  one  figure  in  the  past  that  still 
acts  powerfully  upon  the  tradition,  literature,  and 
imagination  of  Scotland,  —  in  a  word,  upon  that 
which  remains  and  is  imperishable,  after  stone  and 
brass  are  but  mouldering  relics,  —  it  is  the  figure 
and  fortunes  of  Charles,  the  Young  Pretender  to 
the  throne  of  Great  Britain.  With  him  ended  Celtic 
Scotland,  Scottish  feudalism,  and  the  age  of  High¬ 
land  romance. 

About  the  “  Young  Chevalier  ”  —  the  image  on 
the  Scottish  mind  is  that  of  the  fair  youth  in  the 
full  splendor  of  manhood ;  not  the  wretched  dregs 
of  the  human  form  that  many  years  afterwards 
was  cast  out  of  memory  like  an  abominable  branch. 
It  is  of  the  bonnie  young  fellow  that  such  songs 
as  “  Wae’s  me  for  Prince  Charlie,”  “Charlie  is 
my  darling,”  “  Come  o’er  the  stream,  Charlie,”  and 
“The  White  Cockade,” were  written  and  are  stiU 
sung.  His  full  name  was  Charles  Edward  Louis 
Philippe  Casimir  Stuart. 

^  This  young  man,  of  extraordinary  beauty  and 


BONNIE  PRINCE  CHARLIE 


157 


fascinating  manners,  against  the  advice  of  his 
friends  and  most  loyal  supporters,  landed  in  Scot¬ 
land,  and  summoning  the  Highland  chiefs,  who, 
by  affinities  of  blood,  politics,  and  religion,  were 
most  attached  to  the  Stuart  dynasty,  asked  for 
their  support.  One  and  all,  they  declared  against 
the  uprising,  but  they,  nevertheless,  agreed  to  fol¬ 
low  their  liege  lord. 

Born  at  Rome,  on  December  31,  1720,  grand¬ 
son  of  King  James  II  of  England,  and  eldest  son 
of  James,  the  Old  Pretender,  who  called  himself 
James  III,  Charles  was  nominated  by  his  family 
the  Prince  of  Wales.  Educated  under  brilliant 
tutors,  he  travelled  through  Italy.  He  was  able  to 
speak  English,  French,  and  Italian,  but  could 
never  write  well  in  English.  Despite  the  previous 
failure,  in  1715,  of  his  father,  and  the  loss  at  sea 
by  storm  of  a  French  fleet,  with  seven  thousand  men 
who  were  to  assist  his  Highlanders,  Charles  landed 
in  Scotland  when  most  of  the, British  army  was 
in  the  Belgic  Netherlands.  On  August  19,  1745, 
in  Glen  Finnan,  he  unfurled  his  standard  as 
“James  VIII  of  Scotland  and  III  of  England” 
against  George  II  and  the  Hanoverian  dynasty  of 
Great  Britain.  He  wore  the  Highland  costume 
and  won  the  hearts  of  the  women  by  his  charming 
manners  and  manly  beauty. 

After  a  meteoric  career,  including  a  brilliant 
series  of  marches,  victories,  occupation  of  Holy- 
rood  Palace  in  Edinburgh,  invasion  of  England 


158 


BONNIE  SCOTLAND 


almost  to  London,  and  sudden  retreat,  he  had  to 
face  with  his  loyal  clansmen  the  King’s  son  Wil¬ 
liam,  Duke  of  Cumberland,  with  an  army  specially 
trained  to  the  use  of  the  bayonet.  The  two  forces 
met  on  Drummossie  Moor,  near  CuUoden,  April 
16,  1746.  Cumberland’s  men  were  in  high  spirits 
and  fine  condition,  while  the  ill-fed  followers  of 
Charles,  hungry  and  weary  after  a  night  march, 
numbered  five  thousand.  His  attempt  to  surprise 
the  Duke  and  settle  the  issue  with  cold  steel  had 
failed ! 

Against  the  advice  of  his  officers,  Charles  or¬ 
dered  the  battle.  After  various  manoeuvres  the 
armies  faced  each  other  for  the  bloody  decision, 
on  which  depended  the  fate  of  the  House  of 
Stuart,  the  fortunes  of  the  Highlanders,  and  the 
continuance  of  Scottish  feudalism. 

One  dreadful  surprise  awaited  the  clansmen. 
Cumberland,  trusting  in  the  bayonet,  had  care¬ 
fully  drilled  each  of  his  men  to  have  the  nerve  to 
neglect  the  man  striking  at  him  with  his  broad¬ 
sword,  but  to  stab  at  the  fellow  who,  in  expecta¬ 
tion  of  dashing  aside  the  bayonet  of  the  soldier  in 
front  of  him,  would  expose  his  body  to  the  oblique 
thrust  of  his  comrade  on  the  right,  duly  fore¬ 
warned. 

The  day  was  one  of  chilly  weather,  with  fitful 
winds  and  flurries  of  snow.  Early  in  the  after¬ 
noon,  the  battle  was  opened  by  discharges  of  can¬ 
non  from  the  side  of  the  rebels.  But  with  this 


BONNIE  PRINCE  CHARLIE 


159 


kind  of  work,  the  men  from  the  glens  never  were 
satisfied.  Indeed,  all  firearms  and  long-range 
weapons  were  unpopular  with  these  brave  fellows, 
who,  like  Indians  and  semi-barbarians,  enjoyed 
most  that  action  which  was,  as  far  as  possible, 
independent  and  personal. 

In  several  of  their  victories  over  the  royal 
troops,  as  at  Prestonpans,  for  example,  they  had 
felt  little  or  no  annoyance  from  the  royal  cannon, 
and  had  almost  lost  their  fear  of  artillery. 

Cumberland  had  nine  thousand  men  and  eight¬ 
een  well-served  guns.  Here,  for  the  first  time, 
the  Highlanders  were  under  heavy  fire  of  grape 
and  round  shot,  to  which  they  could  not  propor¬ 
tionately  reply.  It  is  thought  that  if  Charles  at 
CuUoden  had  let  his  swordsmen  rush  at  once  upon 
the  enemy  the  issue  might  have  been  different. 

For  half  an  hour  the  Duke’s  cannon  played 
effectively  upon  the  clansmen,  who  saw  scores  of 
their  kinsmen  stretched  upon  the  heath.  After  a 
few  moments’  cannonade  from  their  own  side,  and 
still  under  the  withering  fire  of  the  enemy’s  heavy 
guns,  the  Highlanders  ranged  themselves  in  masses, 
and  according  to  their  clans,  made  ready  for  the 
terrific  onset,  which  they  supposed  would  decide 
the  battle.  This  it  did,  but  not  in  the  way  they 
had  hoped.  It  was  the  Mackintoshes,  who,  unable 
any  longer  to  brook  the  unavenged  slaughter  of 
their  comrades,  broke  from  the  centre  of  the  line 
and  rushed  forward  through  the  smoke  and  snow 


160 


BONNIE  SCOTLAND 


to  mingle  witli  the  enemy.  Yet  the  order  to  ad¬ 
vance,  though  never  delivered,  had  already  been 
given  by  Charles,  the  bearer  being  killed  by  a 
cannon  shot. 

Cumberland’s  troops,  seeing  the  dark  masses 
moving  up  the  slope,  as  in  a  great  wave,  stood  in 
steady  line.  As  the  Highlanders  came  to  shock, 
the  oblique  thrust  of  the  bayonets  was  a  dreadful 
surprise,  for  it  prevented  hundreds  of  clansmen 
from  wielding  their  favorite  weapon,  as  most  of 
them  were  thrust  through  before  they  could  swing 
their  broadswords,  or  make  the  terrible  double- 
handed  sweep  with  their  claymores,  on  which  they 
had  counted.  Soon  the  moor  of  Drummossie  had 
proved  itself  to  be  the  valley  of  decision  for  the 
hopes  of  the  House  of  Stuart. 

Within  two  minutes  the  charge  was  general 
along  the  whole  line.  Yet  it  was  as  if  advancing 
into  semi-darkness  of  whirling  snow  and  powder 
smoke.  One  survivor  of  the  battle,  a  Highlander, 
said  that  after  rushing  forward  the  first  glimpse 
he  received  of  the  Duke’s  troops  was,  when 
the  cloud  of  smoke  and  snow  lifted,  he  saw  the 
white  gaiters  of  the  soldiers.  The  Duke’s  can¬ 
non,  now  loaded  with  grapeshot,  and  the  musketry 
of  his  solid  columns  swept  the  field  as  with  a 
hailstorm.  The  three  ranks  in  the  front  line  of 
English  Hessians  dehvered  simultaneous  volleys, 
while  the  regiments  of  W olf e  —  of  whom  we 
Americans  have  heard  in  his  later  career  at  Que- 


BONNIE  PRINCE  CHARLIE 


161 


bee  —  poured  in  a  flank  fire.  Nevertheless,  the 
right  wing  and  centre  of  the  Highlanders  fought 
with  even  more  than  usual  gallantry  and  resolu¬ 
tion. 

Notwithstanding  the  fact  that  they  were  out¬ 
flanked,  enfiladed,  and  met  by  a  heavy  musketry 
fire  in  front  of  them,  the  right  wing  of  the  High¬ 
landers  broke  Barrel’s  regimental  front  and  passed 
the  guns ;  but  their  attack  was  checked  by  the 
bayonets  of  the  second  line. 

Of  the  Highlanders  who  first  rushed  forward 
the  majority  were  hardly  able  to  see  their  enemy 
for  the  smoke,  until  involved  inextricably  among 
their  weapons.  In  their  onset,  nearly  all  in  the 
front  ranks  fell  before  either  bullets  or  the  pierc¬ 
ing  weapons  used  obliquely,  as  directed  by  the 
Duke,  almost  every  bayonet  being  bent  or  bloody 
with  the  strife.  Nevertheless,  the  Highlanders, 
despite  their  impending  annihilation,  kept  on, 
line  after  line  pushing  forward,  even  though  only 
a  few  of  those  charging  last  reached  the  front 
files  of  the  royal  troops.  In  parts  of  the  plain, 
the  dead  lay  three  and  four  deep. 

During  aU  this  time  the  Macdonalds,  who,  be¬ 
cause  their  ancestors  at  Bannockburn  had  fought 
on  the  right  wing,  had  ever  afterwards,  except  on 
this  occasion,  occupied  this  position,  would  not  fight. 
They  made  no  onset,  and  even  received  the  fire 
of  the  English  regiments  without  flinching.  They 
were  dissatisfied  because  they  had  been  put  on  the 


162 


BONNIE  SCOTLAND 


left  wing.  At  last,  when  the  moment  of  decision 
and  defeat  had  come,  there  being  no  hope,  they 
also  fled  with  the  other  clans. 

Charles  had  yet  in  reserve  his  foreign  troops, 
and  these,  after  the  mountrineers  had  been  ruined, 
he  hoped,  as  he  looked  on  from  the  mound  at 
some  distance  off,  would  redeem  the  day.  But 
though  there  were  instances  of  bravery  among 
these  men,  yet,  demoralized  by  the  wreck  of  the 
clans  coming  as  fugitives  among  them,  and  seeing 
the  Duke’s  army  getting  ready  to  charge  with  the 
cold  steel,  they  fled  in  a  body.  Thus  the  rout  was 
complete.  Charles,  who  had  made  his  last  cast 
for  a  crown,  seemed  now  unable  to  realize  what 
had  happened.  Confounded,  bewildered,  and  in 
tears,  he  seemed  unable  to  act.  His  attendants 
were  obliged  to  turn  his  horse’s  head  and  compel 
him  to  retreat,  Sullivan  his  friend  seizing  the 
horse’s  bridle  and  dragging  him  away. 

During  the  uprising  of  1745-46,  the  local 
clans  wore  a  red  or  yellow  cross  or  ribbon,  in  or¬ 
der  to  distinguish  themselves  from  the  Stuart 
Highlanders,  who  were  all  dressed  in  about  the 
same  way,  except  as  to  their  bonnets.  The  Jaco¬ 
bites  all  wore  the  white  cockade,  like  that  of  the 
Bourbons  of  France,  friends  of  the  Stuarts.  One 
of  the  liveliest  tunes  played  by  the  Highland 
pipers  was  “  The  White  Cockade.”  It  was  the 
same  air,  with  different  words,  which  the  fifers 
and  drummers  of  the  Continental  army  played 


BONNIE  PRINCE  CHARLIE 


163 


when  the  flag  of  the  Revolution  was  raised  in  the 
War  of  Independence.  In  fact,  in  looking  over 
the  American  musicians’  repertoire,  from  1775  to 
1783,  one  might  almost  imagine  that  the  chief 
music  sounded  under  “  the  Congress  flag  ”  of 
thirteen  stripes  and,  after  1777,  under  “  Old 
Glory  ”  of  later  Revolutionary  days,  was  Scottish. 
Even  the  strains  of  mournful  music,  over  the 
graves  of  the  slain  American  patriots,  was  “  Ros- 
lyn  Castle.” 

One  fifth  of  the  Highland  army  was  lost  at 
Culloden.  Of  the  five  regiments  which  charged 
the  English,  almost  aU  the  leaders  and  front  rank 
men  were  slain.  These  numbered  nearly  a  thou¬ 
sand  in  all.  The  actual  battle  lasted  about  forty 
minutes,  much  of  it  in  distant  firing  ;  but  the 
charge  and  the  crossing  of  the  cold  steel  were  aU 
over  in  a  quarter  of  an  hour.  The  number  of 
killed,  wounded,  and  missing  of  the  royal  army 
was  three  hundred  and  ten.  The  victory  was 
mainly  attributable  to  the  effect  of  the  artillery 
and  musketry  of  the  royalists ;  but  in  Munro’s 
and  Barrel’s  regiments,  many  of  the  soldiers  put 
to  death  one,  two,  or  more  Highlanders  each,  with 
their  bayonets,  and  several  of  the  dragoons,  sent 
in  pursuit,  were  known  to  have  cut  down  ten  or 
twelve  fugitives  each  in  the  pursuit. 


CHAPTER  XVI 

THE  OLD  HIGHLANDS  AND  THEIR  INHABITANTS 

The  Highlands,  geologically  speaking,  is  an 
island  of  crystalline  rock  set  in  a  great  sea  of 
younger  formations.  The  great  glen  which  forms 
the  trough  of  the  Caledonian  Canal  is  a  mighty 
earth  rift.  When  once  across  this  line  of  rock  and 
water,  we  were  in  the  Highlands.  In  one  summer 
visit,  we  spent  a  part  of  our  vacation  at  Crieff, 
which  lies  at  the  base  of  the  Grampian  Hills  and 
at  the  entrance  to  the  Highlands.  Here  the  beauty, 
fashion,  and  intelligence  of  the  United  Kingdom 
in  August  gather  together.  What  was  once  a 
“  hydro,”  but  is  now  a  fine  hotel,  was  crowded  to  its 
utmost  capacity.  In  the  evenings,  entertainments 
of  music,  with  dancing  and  recitations  by  the 
young  people,  were  enjoyed.  In  the  mornings,  we 
took  horses  and  carriages  and  drove  through  many 
leagues  of  the  lovely  scenery.  At  another  time, 
in  a  later  year,  the  automobile  served  us  while 
glancing  at  a  hundred  linear  and  many  more  square 
miles  of  Scotland’s  glory. 

Yet  every  time  we  were  in  the  Highlands  and 
in  whatever  shire,  the  old  song,  learned  in  child¬ 
hood,  came  to  mind  —  “  O  where,  tell  me  where, 
has  my  Highland  laddie  gone  ?  ”  Ross  and  Crom- 


THE  OLD  HIGHLANDS 


165 


arty,  now  united  in  one  and  the  largest  of  all  the 
counties  in  Scotland,  is  the  most  thinly  populated 
of  aU.  In  fact  this  great  area  has  been  “  improved  ” 
by  its  landed  proprietors  promoting  the  emigration 
of  its  former  inhabitants.  There  is  only  a  fraction 
left  of  the  Highlanders.  The  Celtic  element  is  but 
a  survival,  a  remnant,  and  the  Gaelic  tongue  is 
like  a  flickering  flame,  almost  ready  to  die  out. 

What  is  the  reason  ?  Is  it,  in  part  at  least,  be¬ 
cause  nature  is  so  niggardly  ?  Again,  is  it  not  true 
that  “  those  who  take  up  the  sword  shall  perish 
by  the  sword  ”  ?  Did  the  traditional  Higlilands 
and  Highlanders  exist,  or  gain  their  place  in 
romance  and  history,  chiefly  through  the  human 
imagination  ? 

Scottish  history  and  poetry  show  that  originally, 
even  as  a  swordsman  and  fighter,  the  Highlander 
possessed  no  special  superiority  over  the  Low- 
lander,  but  in  the  seventeenth  century,  as  in  the 
modern  days,  which  we  of  ’61,  as  well  as  of  1915, 
remember,  and  have  seen  demonstrated,  the  best 
prepared  people,  to  whom  arms  are  habitual,  and 
to  whom  military  training  is  a  personal  accom¬ 
plishment,  will,  at  the  first  beginning  of  war,  at 
least,  be  pretty  sure  to  get  the  advantage.  In  a 
prolonged  struggle,  it  is  resources  that  tell.  Wars 
are  not  ended  by  battle,  but  by  manifest  reserves, 
with  power  to  follow  up  victory. 

It  was  western  Scotland,  of  azoic  rock,  a  far-off 
corner  of  Europe,  that  had  the  singular  fortune  of 


166 


BONNIE  SCOTLAND 


sheltering  the  last  vestiges  of  the  Celts  —  that 
early  race  of  people  who,  once  placed  upon  the 
centre  of  the  ancient  continent,  were  gradually 
driven  to  its  western  extremities. 

A  notion,  held  tenaciously  by  the  Highlanders, 
was  that  the  Lowlands  had  originally  been  their 
birthright.  Many  of  them  practised  a  regular  sys¬ 
tem  of  reprisal  upon  the  frontier  of  that  civilized 
region,  with  as  good  a  conscience  as  a  Levant  pirate 
crossed  himself  and  vowed  to  burn  candles  of  grati¬ 
tude  before  the  Virgin’s  picture,  if  successful  in 
robbery.  To  maintain  this  philosophy  and  practice, 
the  use  of  arms  was  habitual  and  necessary  among 
the  Highlanders.  While  among  the  Lowlanders 
cattle-lifting  and  other  methods  of  rapine  were 
considered  as  the  business  of  thieves  and  scoun¬ 
drels,  it  was  usually  reckoned  by  the  Highlanders 
to  be  an  eminently  honorable  occupation,  partaking 
of  the  prestige  of  a  profession.  How  finely  does 
Sir  Walter  Scott  bring  out  this  sentiment,  when 
Roderick  Dhu  answers  Fitz-James,  who  charges 
the  Highland  chieftain  with  leading  a  robber  life. 

Moreover,  what  still  tended  to  induce  military 
habits  among  the  Gaelic  mountain  folk,  and  what 
still  maintains  most  wars,  in  the  same  spirit,  though 
on  a  larger  scale,  —  national  instead  of  private,  — 
was  the  hereditary  enmity  against  each  other,  sys¬ 
tematically  maintained,  purposely  cultivated  and 
instilled  in  their  children.  In  what  respect  were 
the  clan  feuds  and  fights  of  the  Celtic  Scots  any 


THE  OLD  HIGHLANDS 


167 


nobler  than  those  which  so  long  distracted  China, 
Japan,  and  Iroquois  and  Algonquin  America? 
With  such  philosophy  dominant  as  still  in  our  day 
creates  armies  and  navies,  while  being  no  more 
ethically  worthy,  it  was  required  that  every  man 
capable  of  bearing  arms  should  be  in  perpetual 
readiness  to  foment  war,  or  to  seize  or  repel  oppor¬ 
tunities  of  vengeance.  In  fact,  the  hideous  bru¬ 
tality  of  Confucian,  Japanese,  Iroquois,  Scottish, 
and  Albanian  codes  of  vengeance  alike  befitted 
the  common  savagery  that  runs  counter  to  the 
teachings  of  the  Universal  Man  of  Nazareth. 

The  Celtic  Highlanders  were  nominally  subju¬ 
gated  by  the  iron  hand  of  Cromwell.  Of  this 
mighty  man.  Dr.  Johnson  says,  “  No  faction  in 
Scotland  loved  the  name  of  Cromwell  or  continued 
his  fame.  Cromwell  introduced,  by  useful  violence, 
the  arts  of  peace.  People  learned  to  make  shoes 
and  plant  kail.”  Shoes  were  not  common  in  this 
part  of  Scotland  until  as  late  as  1773. 

At  the  Restoration  of  the  Stuarts,  in  the  person 
of  Charles  II,  the  Highlanders,  with  no  illustri¬ 
ous  and  stimulating  example  before  them,  re¬ 
bounded  into  all  their  former  privileges  and  vigor. 
They  were  kept  in  arms  during  the  reign  of  the 
last  two  monarchs,  who  fomented  those  unhappy 
struggles,  on  account  of  religion,  which  have  made 
the  Stuart  name  so  detested.  The  patriarchal  sys¬ 
tem  of  laws,  upon  which  Highland  society  was 
constituted,  disposed  these  mountaineers  to  look 


168 


BONNIE  SCOTLAND 


upon  these  unhappy  princes,  Charles  I  and  James 
II,  and  upon  the  Pretenders,  who  came  after  them, 
as  the  general  fathers  or  chiefs  of  the  nation,  whose 
natural  and  unquestionable  power  had  been  wick¬ 
edly  disputed  by  their  rebellious  children.  Hence 
at  Killiecrankie,  Preston  pans,  Falkirk,  and  Cullo- 
den,  they  fought  with  the  same  ardor  that  would 
induce  a  man  of  humanity  to  ward  off  the  blow 
which  an  unnatural  son  had  aimed  at  a  parent.  In 
a  word,  as  to  political  education,  they  had  only 
the  ideas  of  feudalism  in  which  they  were  steeped. 

Having  myself  lived  under  feudal  institutions, 
and  seen  the  daily  workings  of  a  society,  graded 
from  lowest  to  highest,  although  with  many  varia¬ 
tions,  and  fixed  in  customs  which  seemed  to  me 
to  be  tedious,  absurd,  and  ridiculous,  as  well  as 
interesting  and  fascinating,  and  living  meanwhile 
under  the  shadow  of  castle  walls  and  towers,  cross¬ 
ing  daily  the  drawbridge  and  often  visiting  the 
towers  of  the  citadel,  I  could  understand  the  me¬ 
diaeval  processes  of  thought,  so  long  surviving  in 
western  Scotland.  I  was  able  to  appreciate  also 
these  Scottish  castles,  whether  still  maintained  as 
of  old,  intact  and  modernized,  or  in  ruins,  and 
easily  re-create  in  imagination  the  mental  atmos¬ 
phere  and  customs  of  the  old  feudal  days,  when 
swords  were  an  article  of  daily  dress  and  frequent 
use,  and  the  steel  blade  the  chief  bond  and  instru¬ 
ment  of  social  order.  The  border  ruffianism  of 
“bleeding  Kansas”  in  the  West  and  much  of 


THE  OLD  HIGHLANDS 


169 


the  old  social  situation  down  South,  in  cotton  land, 
—  the  pride  and  contempt  on  the  one  side  and  the 
hatred,  with  occasional  cattle-lifting  propensities, 
on  the  other,  especially  in  the  Southern  High¬ 
lands,  —  of  which  in  my  boyhood  I  heard  so  much, 
helped  me  to  enjoy  not  only  Scottish  history,  but 
Sir  Walter  Scott’s  inimitable  word  pictures  in 
prose  and  verse.  One  can  describe  most  of  the 
spectacular  phenomena  of  Japanese  as  well  as 
Scottish  feudalism  in  Scott’s  verse  and  prose.  His 
writings  make  illuminating  commentary. 

It  was  hard  for  the  Lowlanders,  after  their 
discipline  under  the  feudal  system  had  passed 
with  the  institution,  to  understand  or  get  along 
peaceably  with  the  Highlanders,  who  hated  indus¬ 
trialism,  shop-keeping,  and  money-making.  High¬ 
land  poverty  and  rawness  are  in  the  main  the 
immediate  inheritances,  even  as  the  old  semi-civi¬ 
lized  life  was  the  direct  result,  of  feudalism.  The 
reason  why  the  dwellings  of  the  plain  people  in 
the  rocky  regions  were,  even  in  our  day,  so 
wretchedly  poor  and  bare,  is  revealed  in  the  book 
of  Mair,  entitled  “  De  Gestis,”  published  in  Latin 
in  1518,  concerning  land  tenure.  He  says:  “In 
Scotland  the  houses  of  the  peasants  are  mere  small 
thatched  huts,  and  the  cause  is,  that  they  do  not 
hold  their  land  in  perpetuity,  but  only  rent  on  a 
lease  of  four  or  five  years  at  the  will  of  the  lord ; 
therefore,  though  there  are  plenty  of  stones,  they 
win  not  build  neat  houses,  nor  will  they  plant 


170 


BONNIE  SCOTLAND 


trees,  or  hedges  to  the  woods,  nor  will  they  enrich 
the  soil ;  and  this  is  to  the  no  small  loss  and  dis¬ 
grace  of  the  whole  realm.  If  the  lords  would  give 
them  their  land  in  perpetuity,  they  would  get 
double  or  triple  the  money  they  now  have,  because 
the  peasants  would  cultivate  the  land  incompar¬ 
ably  better.” 

This  system  of  land  tenure,  which  in  theory  and 
practice  made  the  laird  the  landowner  and  the 
tenant,  or  worker  of  the  soil,  a  virtual  serf  or 
semi-slave,  sufficiently  indicates  the  grounds  and 
nature  of  the  Highland  chief’s  power  and  the  deg¬ 
radation  of  the  average  or  common  man.  In 
almost  every  clan,  there  were  subordinate  chiefs, 
cadets  of  the  principal  family,  that  had  acquired 
a  territory  and  founded  separate  septs.  In  this 
community,  the  majority  of  commoners  were  dis¬ 
tinct  from  the  “  gentlemen,”  who  were  persons 
who  could  clearly  trace  their  derivation  from  the 
chiefs  of  former  times  and  assert  their  kinsman- 
ship  to  the  present  one.  Below  this  clan  aristocracy 
were  the  mass  of  plain  fellows  (“  kerns  ”)  who 
could  not  tell  how  or  why  they  came  to  belong  to 
the  clan  and  who  were  always  distinctly  inferiors. 

There  were  several  distinctions,  based  on  abil¬ 
ity,  of  status  and  condition.  The  commoners  were 
little  better  than  serfs,  having  no  certain  idea  of 
a  noble  ancestry  to  nerve  their  exertions  or  to 
purify  their  conduct.  It  was  not  to  these,  but  to 
the  gentry,  that  the  chief  looked  for  active  service 


THE  OLD  HIGHLANDS 


171 


and  upon  whom  he  depended  in  time  of  war. 
These  upper  grades  of  men  did  most  of  the  fight¬ 
ing,  while  the  larger  body  of  common  retainers 
(“kerns”)  were  left  behind,  during  a  raid,  to 
perform  the  humbler  duties  of  driving  the  cows 
or  tilling  the  fields.  Or,  if  they  accompanied  the 
foray,  they  were  put  in  the  rear  ranks  and  given 
poor  arms,  sometimes  being  provided  only  with 
dirks.  To  illustrate  these  facts  there  were  and 
are  many  stories  told  and  traditions  handed  down. 
Note  the  incident  in  “  The  Lady  of  the  Lake  ” : 

“  Because  a  wretched  kern  ye  slew, 

Homage  to  name  to  Roderick  Dhu  ?  ” 

In  a  word,  in  Scotland  and  in  Japan,  of  which 
we  can  hear  witness  from  personal  experience, 
social  evolution  among  clansmen  and  arms-bear- 
iiig  men  had  begun  and  continued,  though  separa¬ 
tion  had  early  taken  place  between  the  fighters 
and  the  field  laborers.  In  both  countries  the  proc¬ 
ess  and  result  were  much  the  same.  Moreover, 
after  the  Reformation,  the  proud  Highlanders, 
clinging  to  the  old  faith  and  traditions,  looked 
down,  with  even  greater  contempt  than  before, 
upon  the  commercial  Presbyterians  of  the  Low 
Countries.  They  regarded  with  absolute  horror 
the  newer  social  and  political  order,  which  in  their 
eyes  was  but  a  dark  system  of  Parliamentary  cor¬ 
ruption.  They  were  only  too  ready  to  believe  the 
stories  of  luxury,  extravagance,  and  predatory  dis¬ 
honesty,  which  were  supposed  to  be  rife  and  chronic 


172 


BONNIE  SCOTLAND 


in  London.  Here,  too,  human  nature,  Japanese 
and  Scotch,  was  as  much  alike  as  in  a  pair  of  twins, 
born  of  the  same  mother,  and  throughout  history 
running  in  parallel  lines  of  action. 

Moreover,  in  both  Scotland  and  Japan,  it  was 
the  bayonet  against  the  sword.  The  men  of  medi¬ 
aeval  mind  in  both  countries  wore  and  wielded 
blades  and  looked  upon  the  use  of  firearms  as 
something  mean  and  cowardly.  Believing,  to  the 
last,  in  the  rush  against  uniformed  men  in  ranks 
and  in  slashing  with  two-handed  sword  strokes 
(the  Japanese  swordsmen  using  a  mat  shield,  where 
the  Highlander  employed  a  target),  both  Scot  and 
Nipponese  met  failure  against  the  triangular  stab¬ 
bing  tools  that  ended  feudalism.  In  Tokio,  the 
bayonet  monument  on  Kudan  Hill  tells  a  story. 
Here,  history  is  told  in  steel. 

What  did  more  than  anything  else  to  open  the 
Highlands  and  break  up  the  very  idea  of  a  “  her¬ 
mit  nation  ”  was  a  system  of  roads  which  was  car¬ 
ried  out  mainly  during  the  sixteen  years  between 
1726  and  1742,  by  the  British  field  marshal, 
George  Wade.  Though  born  in  Ireland  (whence 
also  came  the  great  soldier  and  diplomatist,  Wade, 
of  China),  he  knew  well  the  Gaels  of  both  the  is¬ 
land  and  the  mainland.  He  spent  two  years  study¬ 
ing  the  problems  of  the  Highlands,  economic  and 
social.  He  had  had  long  service  with  the  army  in 
the  Belgic  Netherlands,  Portugal,  Spain,  and  the 
Mediterranean  Islands.  During  the  Jacobite  out- 


THE  OLD  HIGHLANDS 


173 


break  of  1715,  he  acted  effectively  as  military 
governor.  Having  later  again  made  a  thorough 
study  of  the  Highlands  and  their  inhabitants,  he 
was  made  commander-in-chief,  in  order  to  give 
effect  to  his  own  recommendations.  He  cut  roads 
through  the  most  important  strategic  places  and 
lines  of  country.  In  the  course  of  this  engineering 
work  he  superintended  the  construction  of  no  fewer 
than  forty  stone  bridges.  It  is  this  road-making 
which  constitutes  his  chief  title  to  fame,  as  the 
old  distich  intimates  :  — 

“  Had  you  seen  these  roads  before  they  were  made, 

You  would  lift  up  your  hands  and  bless  General  Wade.” 

In  a  word,  he  made  possible  the  pacification  of 
the  Highlands,  by  a  system  of  hard-faced  or  “  met¬ 
alled  ”  roads.  Dr.  Johnson,  who  saw  the  results 
of  Wade’s  peaceful  campaign,  when  the  work  was 
fresh  and  the  results  novel,  is  unstinted  in  praise 
of  W ade.  In  fact,  it  is  quite  probable  that,  except 
for  these  new  highways,  the  great  man’s  “Jour¬ 
ney  to  the  Western  Islands  of  Scotland,”  in  1773, 
would  not,  perhaps  could  not,  have  been  taken. 

The  houses  the  Highlanders  of  a  century  ago 
lived  in  are  described  by  Dr.  Johnson.  The  con¬ 
struction  of  a  hut,  he  tells  us,  is  of  loose  stones, 
arranged  for  the  most  part  with  some  tendency  to 
circularity  and  placed  where  the  wind  cannot  act 
upon  it  with  violence,  and  where  the  water  would 
run  easily  away,  because  it  has  no  floor  but  the 
naked  ground.  The  wall,  which  is  commonly  about 


174 


BONNIE  SCOTLAND 


six  feet  high,  declines  from  the  perpendicular  a 
little  inward.  Some  rafters  are  raised  for  a  roof, 
which  makes  a  strong  and  warm  thatch,  kept  from 
flying  off  by  ropes  of  twisted  heather,  of  which 
the  ends,  reaching  from  the  centre  of  the  thatch 
to  the  top  of  the  waU,  are  held  firm  by  the  weight 
of  a  large  stone.  No  light  is  admitted,  but  at  the 
entrance  and  through  a  hole  in  the  thatch,  which 
gives  vent  to  the  smoke.  The  hole  is  not  directly 
over  the  fire,  lest  the  rain  should  extinguish  it, 
and  the  smoke  therefore  fills  the  place  before  it 
escapes. 

Entering  one  of  this  better  class  of  huts.  Dr. 
Johnson  found  an  old  woman  whose  husband  was 
eighty  years  old.  She  knew  little  English,  but  he 
had  interpreters  at  hand.  She  had  five  children 
still  at  home  and  others  who  had  gone  away.  One 
youth  had  gone  to  Inverness  to  buy  meal  —  by 
which  oatmeal  is  always  meant.  She  was  mistress 
of  sixty  goats  and  many  kids  were  in  the  enclosure. 
She  had  also  some  poultry,  a  potato  garden,  and 
four  shucks  containing  each  twelve  sheaves  of 
barley.  Huts  in  building  and  equipment  are  not 
more  uniform  than  are  palaces,  and  hers  was  di¬ 
vided  into  several  apartments.  She  was  boiling 
goat’s  flesh  in  the  kettle  for  the  next  meal.  With 
true  pastoral  hospitality,  she  invited  her  guest  to 
sit  down  and  drink  whiskey.  Sweetening  was  ob¬ 
tained  from  honey.  Probably  the  reason  why  mar¬ 
malade  is  so  much  used  by  the  modern  Scots  is 


THE  score  II  HHIOADE  AIKMOKIAL 


THE  OLD  HIGHLANDS 


175 


because  of  old  their  ancestors  used  a  great  deal 
of  honey,  of  which  marmalade,  usually  made  from 
oranges  imported  from  Spain,  takes  the  place. 

Though  the  old  lady’s  kirk  was  four  miles  off 
—  probably  eight  English  miles — she  went  to 
worship  every  Sunday.  She  was  glad  to  get  some 
snuff,  which  is  the  luxury  of  a  Highland  cottage. 
In  one  village  of  three  huts.  Dr.  Johnson  found 
a  chimney  and  a  pane  of  glass. 

Beside  his  road-making,  with  stone  and  concrete. 
General  Wade  had  notable  success  in  dealing  with 
the  peculiar  variety  of  human  nature  that  was  so 
marked  in  the  Celtic  Highlanders.  He  so  won  his 
way  into  their  hearts  that,  with  the  tact  that  came 
of  thorough  acquaintance  with  his  subject,  he 
slowly  but  surely  disarmed  the  clans.  Turbulence 
and  habitual  brawls  ceased,  for  the  most  part,  and 
there  came  an  era  of  civilization  and  peaceful  life, 
contrasting  amazingly  with  the  state  of  affairs  in 
Scotland  before  1745.  To  the  Irish  General  Wade 
the  world  awards  the  title  promised  of  God  by  the 
prophet  Isaiah,  “  The  restorer  of  paths  to  dwell 
in.” 

It  was  in  1745  that  the  road-builder  in  the 
Highlands,  Wade,  then  a  field  marshal,  but  in 
poor  health  and  seventy  years  of  age,  when  at¬ 
tempting  to  deal  with  the  insurrection  of  the  Jacob¬ 
ites,  was  utterly  baffled  by  the  perplexing  rapidity 
of  Prince  Charles’s  marches.  He,  therefore,  most 
patriotically,  resigned  in  favor  of  the  Duke  of 


176 


BONNIE  SCOTLAND 


Cumberland,  the  “  Bluff  Billie  ”  of  fame  and 
story. 

Tbougli  Wade  won  great  victories  in  war,  bis 
greatest  renown  was  gained  not  on  tbe  field  of 
blood,  but  in  this  peaceful  triumph  over  the  High¬ 
landers.  In  this,  he  gave  an  inspiring  precedent 
to  those  of  our  own  American  officers  of  the  army 
and  navy,  who  have  done  such  noble  work  in  pre¬ 
venting  riot  and  other  outbreaks  of  violence  among 
the  races  in  our  composite  nation,  or  who,  by  per¬ 
suasion,  instead  of  bloodshed,  have  induced  Indians 
to  submit  to  law.  In  digging  canals,  in  achieving 
hygienic  mastery  over  disease,  in  surmounting 
natural  obstacles,  in  ministering  to  the  needy,  sick, 
and  hungry  upon  the  frontiers,  and  in  time  of 
pestilence,  calamity,  and  devastation,  by  storm  and 
earthquake,  they  have  shown  their  heroism.  May 
the  time  soon  come  when  society  and  the  world  at 
large  will  honor  the  heroes  of  peace  and  mark 
their  bloodless  triumphs,  no  less  renowned  in  peace 
than  in  war.  Admirable  in  the  highest  degree  is 
now  the  Scottish  camaraderie,  of  Highlander  and 
Lowlander,  but  none,  to  gain  it,  would  in  these 
more  enlightened  days,  pay  again  the  awful  price 
at  which  it  was  won. 


CHAPTER  XVII 

HEATHER  AND  HIGHLAND  COSTUME 

Let  us  look  at  the  characteristics  of  Caledonia’s 
principal  garment,  the  heather:  or,  shall  we  say, 
rather,  the  hue  upon  Scotia’s  cheeks?  Scotland  is 
a  land  of  colors.  Her  robes  and  cosmetics  are 
of  many  dyes.  On  her  flowers  are  the  flushes  of  the 
temporary  blooms,  on  her  rocks  the  tints  of  eter¬ 
nity.  Her  tarns,  her  lochs,  her  bogs  are  as  dye  vats, 
so  rich,  yet  so  changeful,  are  their  hues,  over  which 
artists  thrill  and  glow. 

Scotland’s  richest  hues  are  at  their  full  between 
spring  and  winter.  Then,  in  nature,  pink  and  pur¬ 
ple  are  the  reigning  fashions.  Over  the  larger  part 
of  the  land’s  surface  grows  the  plant  called,  in 
homely  word,  ling,  or  heather,  which  botanists 
name  Calluna  vulgaris.  These  evergreen  shrubs 
flourish  all  over  northern  Europe,  but  other  mem¬ 
bers  of  the  great  family  are  found  also  in  Africa, 
where  they  reach  the  size  of  large  bushes,  while 
one  favored  child,  in  the  south  of  Europe,  grows 
to  the  proportions  of  a  tree. 

Some  of  these  species  brought  from  southern 
lands  ornament  British  gardens,  and  produce  their 
flowers  in  great  profusion  in  April.  In  fact,  some 
flower-fanciers  rear  in  greenhouses  the  different 


178 


BONNIE  SCOTLAND 


varieties  of  heather,  both  exotic  and  native,  with 
the  enthusiasm  which  others  devote  to  orchids. 
There  are  special  buildings,  called  heath-houses, 
erected  for  the  cultivation  of  the  many  varieties. 

Blessed  is  the  heather,  for  it  enlivens  the  sterile 
lands  of  northern  and  western  Europe,  which  other¬ 
wise  would  be  almost  appalling  in  their  vistas  of 
desolation !  Great  masses  of  heather  give,  even  to 
the  most  forbidding  landscapes,  a  beauty  suggest¬ 
ing  something  like  human  sympathy.  The  common 
heather,  like  the  man  suddenly  lifted  to  fame  and 
fortune,  is  apt  to  show  the  lack  of  early  advan¬ 
tages,  but  give  this  plant  of  the  moors  a  sheltered 
place  and  kindly  care,  and  it  wiU  grow  erect  and 
“heave  out  its  blooms”  —  as  said  an  old  mariner 
—  so  as  to  touch  the  top  of  a  yardstick.  With 
purple  stems,  close-leaved  green  fruit,  and  feathery 
spikes  of  beU-shaped  flowers,  this  Calluna  vulgaris 
is  one  of  the  handsomest  of  the  heath  flowers. 
Some  heather  is  white,  but  most  of  the  plants  are 
of  a  lilac  rose  color,  varying  through  pink  to  pur¬ 
ple.  It  is  this  varying  depth  of  color  in  the  blooms 
which  adds  to  the  glory  of  the  August  moors  and 
hillsides. 

Under  ordinary  environment,  most  of  the  plants 
have  no  human  care  to  give  them  comfortable 
growth.  Out  on  the  desolate  moor,  or  on  the  arid 
slopes,  each  bush  has  to  wrestle  with  the  tempest 
and  withstand  the  bombardment  of  sand  and  gravel 
hurled  by  the  wind.  Though  like  the  pine  of  Clan 


HEATHER  AND  HIGHLAND  COSTUME  179 


Alpine,  “  the  firmer  it  roots  him,  the  stronger  it 
blows,”  yet  the  life  of  the  heather  is  a  constant 
struggle.  Even  though  it  rise  but  a  few  inches 
above  the  surface,  its  roots  must  be  anchored  deep 
in  the  ground  to  prevent  its  being  blown  away.  Its 
white  stalk  must  become  gray,  hard,  and  tough, 
if  the  plant  is  to  live. 

The  blossoming  of  the  heather,  even  though  it 
be  “  the  meanest  flower  that  blows,”  is  hailed  with 
delight  as  the  opening  of  Nature’s  floral  calendar. 
With  its  clusters  of  pink,  in  the  time  of  flowering 
in  midsummer,  and  its  mass  of  purple  later  on,  it 
has  a  strange  power  to  awaken  deep-lying  thoughts. 
To  the  natives,  more  especially,  this  wee,  modest 
flower  has  a  mystic  potency  to  please  and  charm. 
It  rouses  among  them,  at  home  and  abroad,  a  feel¬ 
ing  of  patriotism.  It  becomes,  in  the  Scotsman’s 
associations,  a  link  between  his  soul  and  the  ground 
out  of  which  he  came  and  into  which  he  will  go. 
Probably  no  toiling  and  homesick  Scot,  pining  in 
a  foreign  land,  longs  for  anything  in  the  old  home¬ 
land  so  much  as  for  a  sight  of  his  native  heather. 
To  hold  before  his  dying  eyes  a  sprig  of  “the 
bonnie”  has  been  known  to  light  there  a  gleam 
such  as  nothing  else  can. 

Virtually  unknown,  except  to  the  scientific,  in 
America,  where  it  has  never  been  native,  the  ordi¬ 
nary  or  Scottish  variety  of  heather,  wherever  seen, 
has  been  largely  imported  by  the  sons  and  daugh¬ 
ters  of  Scotland.  Heather  is  now  found  sporadic  on 


180 


BONNIE  SCOTLAND 


the  Atlantic  Coast  from  Newfoundland  to  New 
Jersey.  More  welcome  than  the  thistle,  in  which 
many  hillsides  of  Scotland  “  are  very  fertile,”  as 
Dr.  Johnson  remarks,  the  heather  has  brought 
beauty  to  the  eye  and  charm  to  the  landscape,  in¬ 
stead  of  calamity,  as  in  Australia,  where  it  “is 
nigh  unto  cursing,  whose  end  is  to  be  burned.” 

As  for  usefulness,  the  heather  to  the  Scots  is 
almost  what  the  bamboo  is  to  the  Japanese,  in  its 
myriad  applications  to  rural  purposes.  It  is,  first 
of  all,  to  the  women,  a  broom  plant.  The  largest 
stalks  are  made  into  a  broom ;  or,  as  the  Scotch 
say,  the  “  besom,”  which  readers  of  Isaiah  associ¬ 
ate  chiefly  with  destruction.  The  shorter  stems  are 
tied  into  bundles  that  serve  as  brushes.  It  is  Scotch 
humor  that  calls  a  low,  worthless  woman  a  “  besom,” 
while  the  proverb  declares  that  “  there  is  little  to 
the  rake  to  get,  after  the  besom.”  The  long  trail¬ 
ing  shoots  of  the  heather  are  woven  into  baskets. 
Dug  up  with  the  peat  about  its  roots,  the  “  cling 
heath  ”  not  only  makes  good  fuel,  but  it  often  sup¬ 
plies  the  only  material  for  heating  and  cooking 
that  can  be  obtained  on  the  dry  moors. 

In  primitive  days,  the  “  shealings,”  or  huts  of 
the  Highlanders,  were  constructed  of  heath  stems 
connected  together  with  peat  mud,  and  worked 
into  a  kind  of  mortar,  with  dry  grass  or  straw. 
Even  to-day  hunting-lodges,  temporary  sheds,  and 
cattle  houses  are  often  built  in  the  same  way  and 
roofed  with  the  same  plant.  The  luxurious  bed  of 


HEATHER  AND  HIGHLAND  COSTUME  181 


the  ancient  Gael  was  made  by  spreading  the  heather 
on  the  floor  or  bunk,  with  its  flowers  upward, 
making  a  soft  and  springy  mattress.  To-day,  many 
a  deer-stalker,  hill  shepherd,  or  tramping  tourist 
is  glad  to  make  bedding  of  the  same  material.  In 
former  times,  before  Scotland  had  become  almost 
a  synonym  for  whiskey  and  her  glens  for  distill¬ 
eries,  the  young  shoots  were  used  in  brewing,  as 
a  substitute  for  hops,  while  for  tanning  material 
they  have  always  served. 

After  the  heather  ripens,  the  seeds  remain  a 
long  time  in  the  capsules,  and  furnish  food  to 
serve  all  kinds  of  birds,  but  especially  to  the  red 
grouse,  which  finds  here  the  major  portion  of  its 
sustenance.  The  tender  tops  yield  a  large  part  of 
the  winter  fodder  of  the  hill  flocks  ;  for,  when  the 
mountain  grasses  and  rushes  are  no  longer  luscious 
or  accessible,  the  sheep  will  perforce  crop  the 
heather.  This  fact  is  the  basis  of  one  of  those 
cherished  notions,  which  local  pride,  especially 
when  “there ’s  money  in  it,”  —  and  of  like  nature 
all  over  the  world,  —  has  so  generously  furnished. 
It  is  a  notion,  almost  dangerous  in  some  localities 
to  dispute,  that  the  fine  flavor  of  Scotch  mutton 
comes  from  the  sheep’s  diet  of  heather  tops,  which 
menu,  however,  exists  much  more  largely  in  popu¬ 
lar  imagination  than  in  actual  reality. 

Despite  the  pressure  of  the  trade  and  the  de¬ 
mand  for  the  daily  square  miles  of  newspaper 
stock  required  for  an  insatiable  reading  public, 


182 


BONNIE  SCOTLAND 


manufacturers  have  not  yet  been  able  to  make 
heather  stalks  compete  with  other  materials  in 
making  paper.  The  stalks  are  not  sufficiently  fi¬ 
brous  for  this  special  purpose. 

Two  of  the  four  hundred  and  twenty  known 
species  of  heather  yield  great  store  of  honey,  fur¬ 
nishing  a  plentiful  supply  to  the  bees  in  moorland 
districts.  To  secure  a  good  crop,  thousands  of 
hives  are  annually  transported  to  the  moors  dur¬ 
ing  heather-blossom  time.  It  is  highly  probable 
that  from  this  honey  the  ancient  Piets  brewed  the 
mead,  said  by  Boethius  to  have  been  made  from 
the  flowers  themselves. 

In  the  long  stretch  of  the  aeons  and  centuries, 
through  the  alchemy  of  sun  and  water,  the  heather 
has  deposited  the  peat  which  to-day  serves  for 
fuel,  and  of  which  recent  science  has,  with  the  aid 
of  molasses,  made  food  for  horses  and  cattle. 

Of  the  known  species  of  the  genus  Erica,  most 
are  native  to  the  south  of  Africa,  but  the  British 
Isles  produce  seven  species,  of  which  some  have 
been  found  only  in  Ireland.  The  heather  “  bells,” 
so  often  alluded  to  in  British  song,  are  the  flow¬ 
ers  of  the  cross-leaved  and  the  five-leaved  heather. 
Apart  from  song,  these  blooms  flourish  in  the 
field  of  rhetoric  and  conversation  sparkles  with 
references  to  them.  “  To  take  to  the  heather  ”  is 
a  euphemism  for  absconding.  To  be  “  on  one’s 
own  native  heather”  is  to  be  at  home.  “The 
heather  has  taken  fire  ”  when  a  man  is  in  passion. 


HEATHER  AND  HIGHLAND  COSTUME  183 

an  orator  is  eloquent,  or  the  populace  is  in 
anger. 

The  heather,  or  “  heath,”  as  many  natives  call 
it,  has  its  own  inhabitants.  The  little  sandpiper 
is  called  the  “  heather  peeper.”  Then  there  is 
the  heath  fowl,  or  moor  hen,  —  its  young  being 
called  the  “  heath  polt,”  or  pullets,  —  and  the 
“  black  grouse  ”  is  her  husband.  According  to 
Thompson,  in  his  “Seasons,”  — 

“  O’er  the  trackless  waste 
The  heath  hen  flutters,  pious  fraud,  to  lead 
The  hot  pursuing  spaniel  far  away.” 

In  America  we  caU  this  heath  hen  the  pinnated, 
ruffled,  or  Canada  grouse. 

The  game  bird  which  is  peculiarly  associated 
with  Scotland  is  the  “grouse.”  The  word  means 
literally  “  speckled,”  “  grizzly,”  or  “  gray,”  and 
when  popularly  applied  includes  almost  all  of  the 
rough-footed  scratehers  that  wear  feathers  and 
have  wings.  The  red  grouse,  of  old,  was  called 
“  moor  fowl,”  or  “  moor  game,”  and  in  common 
speech  is  said  even  to  influence  legislation ;  for  in 
popular  tradition.  Parliament  adjourns  on  the  day 
when  the  law  allows  this  bird  to  be  shot.  On  the 
12th  of  August,  throughout  Scotland,  one  is  likely 
to  see  in  the  tailor  shops  and  in  many  stores  sprigs 
of  heather  decorating  the  cloth  or  other  merchan¬ 
dise.  In  the  show  windows  will  probably  be  seen 
pictures  of  grouse  hunters  at  work  with  their 
guns,  and  the  graceful  birds  rising  “  up  from  the 


184 


BONNIE  SCOTLAND 


valley  of  death  ”  to  fly,  if  possible,  beyond  the 
reach  of  man.  An  immense  number  of  Scottish 
acres  are  set  apart  as  grouse  moors.  When  there 
are  no  rocks,  bushes,  gullies,  or  other  natural  fea¬ 
tures  for  a  covert,  short  bits  of  wall  or  lunettes  of 
stone  are  built,  beyond  which  the  hunters  hide. 
These  make  a  prominent  feature  in  many  a  square 
mile  of  desolation. 

Though  the  guns  are  not  by  law  allowed  to 
blaze  at  the  birds  until  August  12  is  fully  come, 
yet  at  the  railway  stations  one  may  see,  loaded  on 
the  first  train  of  the  day  before,  hampers  packed 
full  of  this  material  for  enjoyable  dinners,  to 
appear  in  the  London  markets,  with  startling  if 
not  legal  punctuality. 

It  is  said  that  the  red  grouse  is  rarely  or  never 
found  away  from  the  heather,  on  which  it  chiefly 
subsists.  On  the  contrary,  the  wiUow  grouse,  with 
which  we  are  acquainted  in  the  New  World,  where 
heather,  in  the  strict  sense,  is  unknown,  prefers 
the  shrubby  growths  of  berry-bearing  plants,  and 
is  found  numerously  among  the  willows  and 
branches  on  the  higher  levels  and  mountain  slopes. 
The  snow-white  ptarmigan  is  the  cousin  to  the 
red  grouse. 

It  seems  strange,  at  first,  that  the  heather  does 
not  bulk  more  largely  in  Scottish  imagination,  as 
shadowed  forth  in  poetry  and  popular  song.  Yet 
there  is  one  poem  by  Jean  Glover,  entitled  “  O’er 
the  muir  amang  the  heather,”  which  tells  of  com- 


HEATHER  AND  HIGHLAND  COSTUME  186 


ing  through  “  the  craigs  of  Kyle,”  and  how  she 
charmed  the  poet’s  heart,  who  then  swears  :  — 

“By  sea  and  sky  she  shall  be  mine, 

The  bonnie  lass  amang  the  heather 
O’er  the  muir,”  etc. 

Another  song,  “  Heather  Jock ’s  noo  awa’,’’  by 
an  unknown  author,  tells  of  a  famous  pickpocket 
who  could  creep  through  “  a  wee  bit  hole  ”  and 
quietly  pilfer  eggs  and  cheese,  for  “  Jock  was  nae 
religious  youth,”  who  yet  lived  at  a  bountiful 
table  spread  with  his  spoil.  Having  often  broken 
jail,  the  judge  at  last,  without  delay,  sent  him  off 
to  Botany  Bay  and  bade  him  “  never  more  play 
Heather  Jock.” 

Nevertheless,  the  allusions  and  references  to 
the  heath  flower,  in  song,  poetry,  and  conversa¬ 
tion,  are  numerous.  Scott  speaks  of  the  heath- 
bell  “which  supplied  the  bonnet  and  the  plume,” 
and  of  the  harebell,  —  of  which  our  “  shepherd’s 
purse”  is  not  the  contraction, —  and  again  of 
other  dew-begemmed  blooms :  — 

“  A  foot  more  light,  a  step  more  true, 

Ne’er  from  the  heath  flower  dashed  the  dew.” 

Between  the  world  of  heather  and  the  High¬ 
lander’s  costume,  there  is  a  close  and  subtle  con¬ 
nection.  Since  in  the  evolution  of  Scottish  dress 
the  heath  flowers  —  before  the  introduction  of 
garden  favorites,  of  exotic  and  modern  flowering 
plants,  or  the  more  elaborate  plaids  of  recent  days 
—  “supplied  the  bonnet  and  the  plume,”  it  seems 


186 


BONNIE  SCOTLAND 


evident  that  art  took  her  hints  from  nature.  “A 
■wide,  billowing  series  of  confluent  hills,  that  for 
half  a  year  mingled  tints  of  brown,  russet,  and 
dun  in  a  rich  pattern,”  is  a  description  of  the 
hilly  landscape  of  the  border  region,  out  of  which, 
for  the  most  part,  the  development  of  the  plaids, 
on  a  large  scale  of  production,  proceeded.  These, 
blending  with  the  best  work  and  most  cunning 
textiles  of  the  Highlands  and  of  the  islands,  have 
made  the  actual  Highlander’s  costume  of  which 
the  modern  reader  thinks.  It  must  always  be  re¬ 
membered  that  the  most  striking  difference  in  the 
daily  dress  of  Lowlander  and  Highlander  was  in 
the  cut,  form,  method  of  wearing,  and  general 
appearance,  rather  than  in  color  or  material. 
Koughly  speaking,  the  abundant  variety  of  tints 
and  patterns  is  almost  wholly  modern. 

For  centuries,  until  banned  by  law,  the  most 
striking  external  mark  of  difference  between  the 
northland  Scot,  or  the  mountaineer,  and  the  Low¬ 
lander,  the  man  of  the  plains,  was  in  the  male 
costume.  Scotland,  though  in  Roman  times  in¬ 
habited  by  Celtic  tribes,  shared  with  the  northern 
or  Teutonic  nations  in  the  good  providence  that 
enabled  her  people  to  work  out  their  natural  life, 
not  under  Latin  forms,  nor  according  to  the  genius 
of  classic  paganism,  but  under  the  Christian  reli¬ 
gion  and  civilization,  into  whose  school  they  came 
as  young,  docile  pupils.  Christianity  is  Scotland’s 
alma  mater.  Hence  her  people  rejoice  to-day  in 


HEATHER  AND  HIGHLAND  COSTUME  187 

an  art  which  has  remained  free  from  Mediterra¬ 
nean  infusion.  It  is  certainly  wonderful  that  such 
an  aesthetic  dress  as  the  Scottish  costume  should 
have  grown  up  as  something  almost  unaided ;  to 
say  nothing  of  other  interesting  forms  of  artistic 
industry  and  decoration,  which  are  wholly  indige¬ 
nous. 

The  tartan,  though  Scottish  in  its  development, 
was  hardly  an  original  invention.  The  word  comes 
from  the  Spanish  and  French  “  tire  taine,”  mean¬ 
ing  in  the  former  language  something  thin  and 
flimsy,  from  “  tire  tar,”  to  tremble,  or  shiver, 
with  the  cold.  In  French,  the  term  “tire  taine” 
refers  to  the  mingled  fibres  of  linen  and  wool,  or 
linsey-woolsey.  Probably  no  word  is  known  in 
either  Gaelic  or  English,  before  the  fifteenth  cen¬ 
tury,  describing  the  finer  sort  of  tartans.  After 
this  date,  the  vocabulary  is  rich  and  the  industry 
greatly  developed.  It  is  certain  that  the  High¬ 
landers  by  the  eighteenth  century  possessed  these 
peculiar  textiles  and  their  patterns  which  were 
varied  to  a  wonderful  degree,  so  that  each  clan 
had  its  own  special  tartan,  by  which  it  was  dis¬ 
tinguished.  The  Scots  made  the  tartan  the  fit 
substitute  for  a  heraldry  that  expresses  Itself  in 
the  “  arms  ”  and  in  a  system  of  symbolical  deco¬ 
ration  copied  from  plants,  animals,  or  the  imple¬ 
ments  of  war  or  industry.  It  is  probable  that  Euro¬ 
pean  heraldry  arose  out  of  the  crusades,'which  gave 
also  to  Scottish  blazonry  a  tremendous  impetus. 


188 


BONNIE  SCOTLAND 


When,  however,  the  modern  world  at  large, 
attracted  by  the  beauty  and  solid  value  of  the 
Scotch  tartans,  used  these  as  articles  of  dress  for 
their  own  personal  decoration,  or  for  purely  com¬ 
mercial  advantage,  then  the  heraldry  of  the  tartan 
suffered  confusion  and  decay.  Manufacturers,  for 
the  sake  of  the  money  to  be  gained  in  the  new 
enterprise,  began  to  design  new  and.  purely  im¬ 
aginary  tartans.  This  proceeding  gave  rise  to  the 
jests  and  ribaldry  of  the  shallow  skeptics,  who 
throw  doubt  upon  the  reality  of  these  distinctive 
patterns  as  ever  having  been,  as  at  one  time  they 
undoubtedly  were,  distinctive  as  the  particular 
badges  of  particular  clans.  The  truth  lies  mid¬ 
way  between  the  enthusiast  and  the  doubter. 

In  political  history,  when  conquest,  subjection, 
or  subordination  of  all  to  the  supreme  government 
must  be  secured,  it  seems  necessary,  at  times,  to 
suppress  or  abolish  certain  outward  symbols  or 
forms  of  dress  which  ally  the  thoughts  and  feel¬ 
ings  of  those  subordinated  to  the  insurgent  past. 
It  seems  best  to  ban  these,  at  least  until  the  time 
when,  order  and  uniformity  having  been  secured, 
the  resumption  of  the  old  liberty  of  dress,  which 
has  no  longer  any  political  significance,  may  be 
harmless.  In  the  old  Scot’s  land  we  have  heard 
about  “  the  wearing  of  the  green  ”  —  long  pro¬ 
scribed,  then  allowed. 

The  Highlander’s  costume  has  to-day  no  polit¬ 
ical  significance,  though  it  was  once  the  badge  of 


HEATHER  AND  HIGHLAND  COSTUME  189 


the  insurgent,  and  later  for  a  time  under  ban. 
After  Culloden,  in  1745,  the  British  Parliament 
passed  laws  by  which  the  Scottish  hill  people  were 
deprived  of  their  weapons.  Then,  also,  the  High¬ 
land  dress  was  prohibited  under  severe  penalties. 
Happily  however,  that  ban  was  lifted  in  good  sea¬ 
son. 

The  turbulence  of  the  clans  was  at  once  dimin¬ 
ished  when  they  were  disarmed  and  the  way  was 
thus  paved  for  peaceful  compromise.  The  ways  of 
peace  became  more  attractive  to  both  kerns  and 
chiefs  after  roads  had  been  made  in  the  mountain¬ 
ous  region.  Then  the  economic  situation  steadily 
improved  and  industry  was  associated  with  allure¬ 
ments  nearly  equal  to  those  of  war. 

One  of  the  first  things  to  be  done,  to  command 
success  in  this  new  venture  in  statecraft,  was  to 
make  a  clever  adaptation  of  the  Highland  dress, 
which  should  take  away  all  idea  of  conquest  or 
servitude,  but  rather  suggest  ancestral  freedom. 
In  this,  the  success  was  instant  and  marked.  At¬ 
tracted  also  by  the  high  pay,  the  hardy  men  of  the 
glens  enlisted  by  thousands  in  the  British  army. 

It  was  the  wise  and  far-seeing  statesman  Pitt, 
who,  acting  upon  the  suggestion  of  Forbes  of  Cullo¬ 
den,  saw  that  all  that  the  unemployed  Highlanders 
needed  were  new  outlets  to  their  energies.  For 
over  two -centuries  the  United  Kingdom  had  no 
more  loyal  soldiers  than  the  Scots,  whose  valor  in 
every  land  has  been  tried  and  on  a  hundred  fields 


190 


BONNIE  SCOTLAND 


of  glory  proved.  The  prohibitory  acts,  already  a 
dead  letter,  were,  in  1782,  formally  repealed. 

Since  that  time  the  tartan  plaids  have  come  into 
fashion  on  an  international  scale.  These  are  no 
longer  thought  of  as  a  thing  purely  Scottish, 
yet  the  credit  of  such  a  notable  contribution  to 
the  taste,  the  fashion,  and  the  joy  of  the  whole 
world  belongs  to  Scotland.  It  is  one  of  the  many 
gifts  which  this  land  and  people  have  made  to 
the  race  at  large.  In  the  Empire’s  struggle  for 
life  in  1914-16,  among  the  first,  most  valorous, 
most  numerous,  and  most  efficient,  were  the  Scots. 
Even  for  a  “  service  ”  uniform,  the  modified  High¬ 
land  dress  holds  handsomely  its  own. 


CHAPTER  XVIII 

THE  NORTHEAST  COAST - ABERDEEN  AND  ELGIN 

The  northeast  coast  of  Scotland  is  pacific  in 
climate,  as  compared  with  the  Atlantic  storminess 
that  rules  the  sea-girt  land  on  the  west. 

Montrose,  which  has  twenty  places  in  America 
named  after  it,  lying  at  the  mouth  of  the  river 
South  Esk,  is  attractive  because  of  its  splendid 
golf  and  cricket  grounds.  It  is  historically  inter¬ 
esting,  on  account  of  the  checkered  fortunes  of 
its  dukes  and  earls.  On  its  face  we  discern  a 
Netherlands  influence,  for  the  old  architecture 
reminds  us  of  Dutch  towns.  Indeed,  this  may  be 
said  of  many  east  coast  places,  though  in  Holland 
the  architecture  is  all  brick.  In  Scotland  it  is  al¬ 
most  wholly  stone. 

So  much  land  at  Montrose  is  left  bare  at  low 
tide  that  it  seems  a  waste  to  have  it  lie  unused 
by  any  living  thing  but  gulls  and  fishes.  Once, 
expert  dyke-makers  were  brought  from  Holland 
to  embank  and  enclose  the  area  thus  left  dry  at 
ebb  tide ;  but  when  nearly  completed  their  work 
was  destroyed  in  a  few  hours  by  a  terrible  storm 
setting  in  from  the  east. 

It  was  from  Montrose  that  Sir  James  Douglas 
embarked  for  the  Holy  Land  in  1330,  with  the 


192 


BONNIE  SCOTLAND 


heart  of  King  Robert  the  Bruce.  Its  people  were 
Jacobites  in  1745,  when  “Bonnie  Prince  Charlie  ” 
made  the  town  his  headquarters  and  Captain 
David  Ferrier  captured  His  Majesty’s  sloop-of- 
war  Hazard.  Montrose  boasts  also  of  being  the 
first  place  in  Scotland  where  the  Greek  language 
was  taught  and  where  Andrew  Melville,  the  Re¬ 
former,  received  his  education. 

Stone  Haven  we  found  a  lively  place  in  sum¬ 
mer,  because  of  its  sea-bathing.  This  town  has 
had  a  history.  Not  far  away  are  the  ruins  of 
Dunottar  Castle,  which,  perched  on  a  rock  over¬ 
hanging  the  sea,  was  in  ancient  times  probably 
impregnable.  Even  when  the  castle  surrendered 
to  the  English  army,  it  was  because  of  famine, 
and  not  from  weakness  of  the  garrison.  It  covers 
three  acres,  which  are  now  left  in  the  gloom  of 
desolation.  The  iron  rings  and  bolts,  that  held  the 
culprits  for  security  or  for  torture,  still  witness 
to  the  barbarous  methods  of  our  ancestors. 

Out  at  sea  we  caught  a  glimpse  of  the  Bell 
Rock  Light  House,  which  rises  one  hundred  and 
twelve  feet  above  water  level.  It  is  often  literally 
buried  in  foam  and  spray  to  the  very  top,  even 
during  ground  swells,  when  there  is  no  wind. 
Sometimes  the  pressure  of  the  waves  is  equivalent 
to  nearly  three  tons  to  the  square  foot.  In  one 
instance,  at  a  height  of  eighty-six  feet,  an  iron 
ladder  was  wrenched  from  its  fastenings  and 
washed  round  to  the  other  side.  At  times,  stones, 


ABERDEEN  AND  ELGIN 


193 


more  than  two  tons  in  weight,  have  been  cast  up 
from  the  deeper  water  upon  the  reef. 

Aberdeen  is  popularly  called  the  “  Granite  City,” 
because  many  of  its  dwellings  and  public  build¬ 
ings  are  built  from  the  native  rock.  Yet  for  the 
vision  and  fulfilment,  one  must  see  the  place,  not 
only  in  the  purple  light  of  the  setting  sun  and  in 
the  ordinary  hours  of  the  day,  but  also  after  a 
heavy  rain,  which  not  only  has  washed  the  air, 
but  has  cleansed  the  house-fronts.  Then  Aberdeen 
is,  indeed,  the  “  Silver  City  by  the  Sea.”  One 
may  see  how  well  the  name  is  bestowed,  for  then 
the  stately  public  structures  and  private  dwellings 
gleam  pure  and  white  under  the  brilliant  sun¬ 
shine. 

Despite  the  heavy  annual  rainfall,  the  Granite 
City  is  not  only  the  most  prosperous,  but  one  of 
the  healthiest  in  Scotland.  For  three  hundred 
years  its  delvers  have  been  quarrying  the  durable 
gray  granite,  which,  when  cut  and  polished,  is, 
to  the  extent  of  a  quarter  of  a  million  tons,  ex¬ 
ported  to  all  parts  of  the  world.  Nearly  a  hun¬ 
dred  firms  are  engaged  in  the  industry.  The  proc¬ 
ess  of  putting  a  lustre  upon  this  very  hard  stone, 
though  known  to  the  Egyptians,  seems  to  have 
been  lost  for  thousands  of  years.  When  recovered 
in  Aberdeen,  about  1818,  it  became  the  chief 
source  of  the  town’s  prosperity.  Then  Scotland’s 
rocky  base  was  transmuted  into  new  values,  as  of 
gold  mines,  which  the  Aberdeenians  have  found 


194 


BONNIE  SCOTLAND 


in  both  sea  and  land,  for  Aberdeen’s  greatest 
source  of  wealth  is  in  her  sea  power. 

Twenty-five  millions  of  dollars  worth  of  food  are 
extracted  annually  through  the  fisheries  in  the 
deeper  Waters,  which  have  been  improved,  first  by 
the  method  of  beam  trawling,  begun  in  1882,  and 
then  by  the  steam  line  fishing  in  1889.  Trains 
loaded  with  nourishment  from  the  great  deep  are 
despatched  to  London  daily,  and  the  fish  market 
is  a  lively  place. 

How  full  the  North  Sea  is  of  these  trawlers 
those  know  who  have  seen  them  and  kept  pace 
with  the  efforts  of  philanthropists  to  minister  to 
the  needs  of  the  men  on  board  the  ships.  In  re¬ 
cent  years  we  have  learned,  moreover,  how  soon, 
in  time  of  war,  these  toilers  of  the  deep  are  called 
upon  to  show  their  courage  as  well  as  their  indus¬ 
try,  and  have  thus  realized  the  danger  ever  sur¬ 
rounding  these  modest  heroes.  The  Russian  Baltic 
fleet,  in  1904,  which  was  full  of  officers  nervous 
about  the  existence  of  Admiral  Togo’s  torpedo 
boats, —  supposed  to  be  alert  and  active,  seven 
thousand  miles  away  from  home,  —  fired  into  the 
Scotch  trawlers  and  shed  blood.  How  happy  we 
were  to  see  our  British  brethren  keep  cool !  In¬ 
stead  of  rushing  immediately  into  war,  like  bar¬ 
barians  and  savages,  John  Bull  and  the  Muscovite 
came  to  an  amicable  understanding.  In  the  world- 
war  of  1914-16,  the  trawlers  have  not  only  caught 
fish,  but  in  their  new  capacity,  as  mine-sweepers, 


INTEKIOH  OF  COTTAGE,  NORTHEAST  COAST 


? 

\ 


ABERDEEN  AND  ELGIN 


196 


have  kept  the  North  Sea  measurably  free  from 
“  the  hell  hounds  of  the  deep,”  besides  themselves 
suffering  awful  devastation  of  life  and  property 
from  hostile  aeroplanes  and  submarines. 

An  amusing  glimpse  into  the  life  of  the  town  in 
mediaeval  days,  when  its  people  lived  in  that  other 
world  of  thought,  which  in  northern  Europe  has 
utterly  passed  away,  is  given  in  the  public  records. 
For  example,  as  showing  the  status  of  the  crafts 
and  guilds,  to  which  the  labor  unions  of  Great 
Britain  have  sueceeded,  the  Aberdeen  Council 
register  has  the  following ;  — 

“  It  was  found  by  the  old  lovable  custom  and 
rite  of  the  burgh,  that  in  the  honor  of  God  and  the 
Blessed  Virgin  Mary,  the  craftsmen  of  the  same, 
in  their  best  array  kept  and  adorned  the  Pro¬ 
cession  from  Candlemas  yearly.” 

The  ordinance  declares  also  that  “  they  shall  in 
order  to  the  offering  in  the  Play  [miracle  or  pag¬ 
eant]  pass  two  and  two,  together,  socially  :  first 
the  fleshers,  barbers,  bakers,  shoemakers,  skinners, 
coopers,  wrights,  hatmakers  and  bonnet  makers 
together  ;  then  the  fullers,  dyers,  weavers,  tailors, 
goldsmiths,  blacksmiths,  and  hammer  men  ;  and 
the  craftsmen  shall  furnish  the  pageants ;  the  shoe¬ 
makers,  the  messenger ;  the  weavers  and  fillers, 
Simeon ;  the  smiths  and  goldsmiths,  the  three 
kings  of  Cologne ;  the  dyers,  the  Emperor  ;  the 
masons,  the  three  Knights ;  the  tailors.  Our  Lady, 
St.  Bride,  and  St.  Helen  ;  and  the  skinners,  the 


196 


BONNIE  SCOTLAND 


two  Bishops ;  the  two  of  each  craft  to  pass  with 
the  pageant  that  they  furnish,  to  keep  their  gear.” 
Each  craft,  hy  long  custom,  became  identified  with 
certain  characters  in  the  procession.  Eleven  shil¬ 
lings  was  the  fine  against  those  who  failed  to  do 
their  part. 

To  the  north  and  west  of  Aberdeen  lies  Elgin, 
which  has  in  its  name  so  many  associations  of 
classic  and  Oriental  lands,  in  addition  to  those 
with  the  Timepiece  City  in  Illinois. 

The  eighth  Earl  of  Elgin  (1811-63),  James 
Bruce,  was  great  both  in  America  and  Asia.  He 
served  not  only  as  Governor  of  Jamaica,  but  also 
as  Viceroy  and  Governor-General  of  Canada.  His 
warm  relations  with  the  United  States  and  his 
conciliatory  treatment  —  in  spite  of  the  mob  pelt¬ 
ing  his  carriage  with  stones  —  of  those  who  suf¬ 
fered  in  the  troubles  of  1837,  were  not  at  first 
appreciated.  “  He  rewarded  the  rebels  for  their 
rebellion,”  as  the  then  fiery  Mr.  Gladstone  de¬ 
clared  in  Parliament.  Yet  it  was  the  efforts  of  this 
Lord  Elgin,  with  those  of  our  Millard  Fillmore  in 
Congress,  that  gave  permanent  effect  to  that  pro¬ 
vision  in  the  Treaty  of  Ghent,  which,  for  a  hundred 
years,  has  secured,  between  two  great  friendly  na¬ 
tions,  a  peaceful  frontier,  three  thousand  miles  long. 

It  was  Thomas  Bruce  (1766-1841),  the  father 
of  this  Lord  Elgin,  who  secured  the  sculptures  in 
marble  from  Athens,  which  are  now  in  the  British 
Museum. 


ABERDEEN  AND  ELGIN 


197 


In  India,  George  Bruce,  another  Earl  of  Elgin, 
enabled  a  handful  of  white  men,  fighting  for  civi¬ 
lization  against  fearful  odds,  to  break  the  back  of 
the  Sepoy  Mutiny,  in  1857,  even  before  British 
reinforcements  arrived.  In  China,  James  Bruce 
negotiated  the  Treaty  of  Tientsin.  In  Japan,  he 
followed  up  the  work  initiated  by  the  Americans, 
President  Millard  Fillmore,  Commodore  Perry, 
and  Townsend  Harris,  using  their  interpreters  and 
profiting  by  their  precedents.  He  thus  inaugu¬ 
rated  British  influence  in  the  most  progressive 
country  of  Asia. 

While  Elgin  returned  to  England,  his  brother 
George  and  the  allied  forces  attempted  to  proceed 
to  Peking  with  the  ratified  treaty.  In  front  of 
the  Taku  forts,  built  at  the  mouth  of  the  Pei-ho, 
they  were  fired  on  and  the  flotilla  of  British  gun¬ 
boats  was  nearly  destroyed,  on  the  25th  of  June, 
1859.  Then  it  was  that  our  own  Commodore  Tat- 
nall,  technically  violating  neutrality,  came  to  the 
aid  of  the  British,  not  only  to  offer  his  surgeons 
for  the  scores  of  wounded  that  lay  on  the  decks 
of  the  shattered  ships,  but  to  blink  at  his  boat’s 
crew  of  American  sailors,  as  they  served  the  one 
British  gun  on  the  flagship  that  was  left  unhurt. 

Later  on,  he  lent  the  aid  of  his  boats  to  land 
detachments,  which  turned  the  Chinese  defences 
from  the  rear.  Tatnall  gained  world-wide  reputa¬ 
tion  by  his  declaring  that  “  Blood  is  thicker  than 
water.”  This  phrase,  now  international,  in  its 


198 


BONNIE  SCOTLAND 


original  form,  was  an  old  Scottisli  proverb,  and  as 
used  by  Sir  W alter  Scott  more  than  once,  it  reads, 
“  Blood  is  warmer  than  water.” 

“  For  course  of  blood,  our  proverbs  deem, 

Is  warmer  than  the  mouutain-stream,”  — 

says  Scott  in  his  introduction  to  Canto  vi  of 
“  Marmion.” 

Lord  Elgin  was  sent  again  to  China  to  demand 
apology,  the  execution  of  the  treaty,  and  an  in¬ 
demnity  from  the  Chinese.  Then  took  place  that 
awful  sacking  of  the  Imperial  Summer  Palace,  by 
which  the  accumulations  of  art  and  taste  for  cen¬ 
turies  were  given  over  to  the  British  and  French 
common  soldiers  for  plunder  and  devastation.  The 
purpose  in  view  was  that  the  punishment  for  per¬ 
fidy  should  fall,  not  on  the  common  people,  but 
immediately  and  personally  on  the  faithless  rulers. 
When,  later,  Elgin  was  sent  as  Viceroy  and  Gov¬ 
ernor-General  of  India,  —  the  first  appointed  di¬ 
rectly  by  the  Crown,  —  he  showed  wonderful  en¬ 
ergy,  firmness,  and  dignity,  but  died  in  the  midst 
of  his  labors. 

The  last,  or  ninth,  Earl  of  Elgin  was  Viceroy 
of  India  from  1894  to  1899,  and  in  1905-8  was 
Secretary  of  State  for  the  Colonies  in  the  Cabinet 
of  Sir  H.  Campbell-Bannerman,  where  he  was  some¬ 
what  overshadowed  by  his  brilliant  under-secre¬ 
tary,  Winston  Churchill,  of  whom  we  heard  in  1916, 
in  a  soldier’s  uniform.  Elgin  retired  from  the  Cabi¬ 
net  when  Mr.  Asquith  became  Prime  Minister. 


ABERDEEN  AND  ELGIN 


199 


Elgin,  like  most  other  similarly  vertebrated 
Scottish  towns,  consists  of  a  backbone,  the  High 
Street,  from  which  numerous  ribs  or  alleys  diverge. 
This  principal  highway  contains  the  ancient  build¬ 
ings  and  extends  about  a  mile  from  east  to  west, 
though  its  uniformity  is  broken  by  the  parish 
church,  which  obtrudes  into  the  causeway.  The 
town  has  long  been  famous  for  its  schools,  while 
of  all  the  Scottish  cathedrals,  except  that  in  Glas¬ 
gow,  this  at  Elgin  is  the  most  magnificent  and  cer¬ 
tainly  the  most  ornate.  One  of  the  most  imposing 
ruins  in  the  kingdom,  it  has  great  interest  for  the 
architect.  It  was  founded  in  1224,  during  the 
reign  of  Alexander  II,  who  also  gave  the  town  its 
charter.  “  Proud  ”  Edward  I  stayed  at  the  castle 
twice,  and  the  building  was  destroyed  immediately 
after  national  independence  had  been  reasserted 
at  Bannockburn,  in  order  that  the  memory  of  his 
visits  might  be  blotted  out.  The  hill  on  which  the 
castle  stood  was  re-named  the  “Lady  Hill.”  On  the 
scanty  ruins  of  the  castle  now  stands  a  fluted 
column  surmounted  by  a  statue  of  the  fifth  Duke 
of  Gordon. 

Elgin  has  had  a  surfeit  of  history,  with  the  un¬ 
happiness  therefrom  accruing.  Ravaged,  burned, 
plundered,  and  rebuilt,  the  place  survived  all  de¬ 
grees  of  devastation,  to  settle  down  into  a  sleepy 
cathedral  town  for  generations,  until  touched  by 
the  spirit  of  the  nineteenth  century  which  has 
swept  away  much  of  its  picturesqueness.  So  often 


200 


BONNIE  SCOTLAND 


had  it  been  fired  and  robbed  that  when,  in  1402, 
Alexander,  Lord  of  the  Isles,  burned  the  town,  he, 
the  canny  Scot,  for  a  consideration,  spared  the 
cathedral.  The  Elginers,  acting  on  the  principle  of 
“  small  favors  thankfully  received,”  erected  the 
“  Little  Cross  ”  — so  named  to  distinguish  it  from 
the  “  Muckle,”  or  “  Market  Cross,”  which  was  re¬ 
stored  in  1888. 

In  the  vestibule  connecting  the  chapter  house 
with  the  choir,  a  poor,  half-crazy  creature,  a  sol¬ 
dier’s  widow,  named  Marjorie  Anderson,  took  up 
her  quarters  in  1748.  She  made  her  infant’s  cradle 
of  the  stone  basin  or  niche,  in  which  the  priest  for¬ 
merly  washed  the  chalice  after  administering  com- 
mimion ;  that  is,  in  the  “piscina,”  —  named  after 
the  ancient  fishpond  attached  to  a  Roman  villa,  — 
and  she  lived  on  charity.  In  time,  her  baby  boy, 
grown  to  manhood,  joined  the  army,  and  went  to 
India.  He  rose  to  be  major-general  and  amassed  a 
fortune,  amounting  to  what  would  now  be  a  half¬ 
million  dollars,  and  with  this  he  endowed  the  Elgin 
Institution,  which  is  called  after  its  benefactor. 
The  Anderson  Institution  for  the  Education  of 
Youth  and  the  support  of  Old  Age  in  Elgin  has 
also  a  romantic  story  of  origins. 

Nothing  could  kill  Elgin.  It  might  well  take  for 
its  motto,  “  iterum,”  —  again.  The  “  Garden  of 
Scotland,”  with  its  fine  climate,  cheap  living,  and 
good  schools,  rose  into  prosperity,  especially  since 
many  of  her  former  sons  have  been  generous  to 


ABERDEEN  AND  ELGIN 


201 


their  mother.  In  1903,  Mr.  G.  A.  Cooper  pre¬ 
sented  his  native  town  with  a  public  park  of  forty- 
two  acres  containing  lakes,  which  represent,  on  a 
miniature  scale,  the  British  Isles.  The  public  li¬ 
brary  occupies  what  was  once  the  mansion  of  the 
Grant  family. 

There  is  a  church  at  Birnie,  not  far  away  to  the 
southwest,  built  in  1150,  which  is  believed  to 
be  the  oldest  house  of  public  worship  still  in  use 
in  Scotland.  Here  is  preserved  an  old  Celtic 
altar  bell  of  hammered  iron.  Such  is  the  odor  of 
sanctity  of  this  ancient  edifice  that  there  is  a  local 
saying  that  “  To  be  thrice  prayed  for  in  the  kirk 
of  Birnie  will  either  mend  or  end  you.” 


CHAPTER  XIX 

THE  ORKNEYS  AND  THE  8HETLANDS 

In  the  days  of  the  great  world- war  of  1914-16, 
the  Orkneys  rose  into  fresh  notice,  especially  be¬ 
cause  here  the  British  cruisers,  that  had  intercepted 
the  neutral  steamers  to  Holland,  Scandinavia,  and 
Denmark,  took  their  semi-prizes  and  detained 
mails  and  passengers,  causing  much  exasperation. 
Here,  too,  was  the  western  terminal  of  the  line  of 
blockade,  with  ships  and  steel  netting,  by  which 
passage  into  Germany  was  made  nearly  impossible. 
During  this  period  many  Americans  were  involun¬ 
tary  and  not  over-happy  visitors  to  these  islands, 
which  to  them  were,  literally,  the  Bleak  House  of 
the  British  Empire. 

“  Orcades  ”  was  the  name  the  Romans  gave  to 
this  northern  extremity  of  their  world.  Their  ex¬ 
istence  had  been  unknown,  nor  was  it  suspected 
that  Britain  was  an  island,  until  the  time  of  Agri- 
cola  in  A.D.  7  8.  Then  the  fleet  of  triremes  ploughed 
the  waves,  unveiling  the  contour  of  the  country, 
centuries  later  called  Scotland. 

To-day  the  two  archipelagoes,  Orkney  and  Shet¬ 
land,  form  one  British  county,  with  a  representa¬ 
tive  in  Parliament.  Of  the  sixty-seven  Orkney 
Islands,  seven  are  inhabited  by  fewer  than  thirty 


THE  HARBOR  OF  KIRKWALL,  ORKNEY  ISLANDS 


,  '.ill 


•  j  4( 


.  i>;  .  ■  V 

■  ,  '' 

•■*  t^i  t  .T  y  ;,  ,  ; 


.r"->ihl>J. 

■  --.■sM/U 


THE  ORKNEYS  AND  THE  SHETLANDS  203 


thousand  persons.  Populated  once  by  the  Piets, 
whose  rude  memorials  are  seen  almost  everywhere, 
these  islands  became  part  of  Norway  and  Denmark, 
and  constituted  no  portion  of  the  Scottish  realm, 
until  America  was  discovered.  It  was  when  James 
III  —  as  in  our  time  Edward  VII  —  wed  the 
“  sea-king’s  daughter  from  over  the  sea,”  that  the 
Danish  sovereign,  by  bestowing  these  storm-swept 
isles  as  the  marriage  portion  of  his  daughter,  niade 
them  part  of  Scotland.  James  III  was  son  of  the 
Dutch  Queen,  Mary  of  Gelderland.  He  married 
Margaret  of  Denmark,  in  1469.  Pomona  is  the 
largest  island  and  Kirkwall  its  chief  town,  with 
which  not  a  few  involuntary  American  tourists 
have  made  themselves  acquainted  in  the  war 
years. 

The  Pentland  Firth,  stormiest  of  any  and  all 
firths  in  Scotland,  is  eight  miles  wide.  What  are 
its  peculiarities  of  behavior,  during  centuries,  when 
hectored  and  goaded  by  the  winds,  may  be  realized 
from  the  great  storm  of  1862.  Then  the  waves  ran 
bodily  up  and  over  the  vertical  cliffs,  two  hundred 
feet  in  height,  lodging  portions  of  the  wrecked  boats, 
stones,  seaweed,  etc.,  on  their  tops.  This  attrition, 
continued  during  ages,  effecting  the  destruction 
of  the  cliffs  and  heaping  up  torn  rock  masses 
by  sea  action,  proves,  say  the  geologists,  that  many 
of  Nature’s  ruins  along  the  coast  of  Scotland  are 
the  work  of  the  sea  when  agitated  by  storms, 
rather  than  that  of  icebergs.  The  spring  tides  of 


204 


BONNIE  SCOTLAND 


the  Pentland  Firth  run  at  the  rate  of  over  ten 
nautical  miles  an  hour,  and  are  probably  by  far  the 
most  rapid  marine  currents  around  the  British 
Islands.  When  aided  by  powerful  wdnds,  these 
undersea  forces  lend  incredible  force  to  the  break¬ 
ers  in  the  northern  sea. 

Still  farther  north,  beyond  the  Orkneys,  are  the 
Shetlands,  on  which  are  bred  the  little  ponies, 
known  by  the  name  of  “Shelties.”  With  Ameri¬ 
cans  born  in  a  city,  among  the  first  childish  impres¬ 
sions  of  any  other  animals  than  the  average  city 
horse,  cat,  and  dog,  are  those  of  Shetland  ponies, 
with  which  they  are  enraptured  when  a  visiting 
circus  company  makes  a  street  parade. 

In  old  days  the  ponies  were  regarded,  on  the 
island  on  which  they  were  born,  as  common  prop¬ 
erty  for  all.  This  primitive  stage  of  communal 
society  having  long  ago  passed  away,  the  hardy 
little  creatures  are  reared  in  large  numbers,  chiefly 
for  export  into  England.  There  most  of  them 
have  to  leave  the  sunlight  and  live  down  in  the 
darkness,  being  made  very  useful  in  hauling  cx)al 
in  the  narrow  galleries  of  the  mines  underground. 

The  Shetlands,  or  Zetland  group  of  islands,  are 
the  most  northerly  British  possessions  in  Europe. 
The  name  “  Shetland  ”  is  supposed  to  be  simply 
a  modernized  rendering  of  the  old  Norse  “  Hjalt- 
land,”  the  meaning  of  which  is  given  as  “  high¬ 
land  or,  “  Hjalti’s  land,”  —  after  a  man  whose 
name  occurs  in  ancient  Norse  literature;  or, 


THE  ORKNEYS  AND  THE  SHETLANDS  205 


“  Hilt-land,”  in  allusion  to  an  imagined  resem¬ 
blance  of  the  configuration  of  the  archipelago  to 
the  hilt  of  a  sword.  Many  remains,  in  the  form  of 
stone  circles  and  “  brochs,”  are  still  to  be  seen. 
The  people  were  converted  to  Christianity  in  the 
sixth  century  by  Irish  missionaries,  but  the  Norse 
language  and  customs  survived  in  Foula  till  the 
end  of  the  eighteenth  century.  Besides  the  remains 
of  old  Scandinavian  forts,  there  are  ruins  of  twenty 
ancient  chapels.  Fitful  Head  is  the  Ultima  Thule 
of  the  ancients.  Unst  is  the  most  northerly  island 
of  the  group.  Near  Lerwick  is  the  largest  and 
best-preserved  of  the  old  Pictish  towers,  so  nu¬ 
merous  along  the  coast  and  which  long  served  for 
beacon  fires  and  signals. 

The  scenery  is  bleak  and  dreary,  consisting  of 
treeless  and  barren  tracts  rich  in  peat  and  boul¬ 
ders.  The  smnnier  is  almost  nightless,  print  being 
legible  at  midnight;  but  in  winter  the  days  are 
only  six  hours  long,  though  the  nights  are  fre¬ 
quently  illuminated  with  brilliant  displays  of  the 
aurora  borealis.  As  for  visitors,  the  whales,  of 
various  species,  are  perhaps  more  numerous  than 
human  outsiders,  being  from  time  to  time  cap¬ 
tured  in  the  bays  and  sounds.  The  natives  are 
daring  cragsmen,  and  hunt  the  waterfowl,  which 
live  in  immense  variety  and  numbers  on  the  cliffs. 
In  one  place  is  GaUows  Hill,  where  they  used  to 
hang  witches  and  criminals. 

It  was  probably  in  this  region,  so  long  subject 


206 


BONNIE  SCOTLAND 


to  the  incursions  of  the  Danes  and  Norsemen,  that 
the  story  of  the  thistle,  now  the  national  emblem, 
arose.  A  Danish  army  was  moving  at  night  to 
surprise  the  Scots,  when  one  of  the  invaders  in 
his  bare  feet  stepped  on  a  thistle  and  felt  some¬ 
thing  not  pleasant.  His  howl  of  pain  awakened 
the  sleeping  host  and  the  Scots,  seizing  their 
weapons,  drove  off  the  enemy.  Later  the  emblem 
was  stamped  on  coins  and  the  Order  of  the  This¬ 
tle,  or  Order  of  St.  Andrew,  was  established. 

The  Shetlanders  are  famous  for  their  skiU  with 
both  needles  and  looms.  It  is  interesting  to  note 
that  knitting  is  quite  a  modern  invention ;  yet 
what  an  addition  to  the  resources  of  civilization 
and  what  an  asset  of  the  sedentary  life  it  has  be¬ 
come!  How  handsomely  it  supplemented  the  seon- 
old  art  of  weaving !  In  the  Shetlands  knitting  has 
helped  notably  to  enrich  life  and  supplement  in¬ 
dustry  in  a  region  where  existence  is  hard.  To 
these  islands  the  gift  came  from  Spain,  the  orig¬ 
inal  country  of  Santa  Claus,  in  which  many  of 
our  air  castles  lie.  It  was  through  Holland  that 
the  red  robe  and  ecclesiastical  associations  of  St. 
Nicholas  came  first  to  us,  but  it  was  by  way  of 
Norway  that  his  fur-trimmed  cap  and  coat,  some¬ 
what  shortened,  and  his  reindeers,  arrived  later  in 
America;  but  to  the  Shetlands  the  Spaniards 
came  in  a  ship  direct. 

From  the  survivors  of  a  vessel  in  the  Armada 
of  Philip  II,  which  went  ashore  in  1588,  the  Shet- 


THE  ORKNEYS  AND  THE  SHETLANDS  207 


landers  are  said  to  have  acquired  the  art  of  knit¬ 
ting  the  colored  hosiery  for  which  they  are  noted. 
The  shipwrecked  Spanish  sailors  taught  the  people 
how  to  prepare  dyes  from  the  plants  and  lichens, 
and  many  of  the  patterns  still  show  signs  of  Moor¬ 
ish  origin. 

Shetland’s  starting-point  of  chronology  was  this 
year,  1588,  when  the  Spanish  admiral,  command¬ 
ing  the  Duke  of  Medina,  Sidonia’s  flagship,  was 
wrecked  on  this  iron  shore.  About  two  hundred 
of  the  would-be  invaders  of  Britain  were  rescued 
and  lived,  with  the  hardy  islanders  of  Fair  Island, 
on  shell  fish  and  wild  fowl,  until  the  monotony 
and  sparseness  of  such  unusual  diet  drove  them 
to  the  “  mainland.”  There  they  were  kindly  re¬ 
ceived  and  were  subsequently  sent  to  Scotland. 
This  name  “Fair”  comes  from  the  Norse  “faar,” 
a  sheep,  which  is  also  the  meaning  in  the  name  of 
Faroe  Islands,  which  belong  to  Denmark. 

At  Oban  we  wondered  at  the  fine  knitted  goods 
made  in  the  Shetlands,  each  parish  having  its 
own  specialty.  This  is  true  particularly  of  Fair 
Island  on  which  the  Spaniards  were  shipwrecked. 
Traces  of  the  visit  of  these  Southerners,  both  eco¬ 
nomic,  moral,  and  physical,  as  we  have  noted,  are 
still  discernible.  So  delicate  is  the  workmanship 
and  so  amazingly  fine  the  fabric  that  stockings 
have  been  knitted  which  could  be  drawn  through 
a  finger  ring.  The  women  do  most  of  the  farm- 
work,  laying  aside  the  hoe  and  spade  to  spend 


208 


BONNIE  SCOTLAND 


their  spare  time  with  the  needles  in  knitting  caps, 
gloves,  stockings,  and  waistcoats  of  the  most  va¬ 
ried  patterns  and  in  many  combinations  of  color. 
In  one  of  Murillo’s  pictures,  in  the  Dulwich  Gal¬ 
leries,  near  London,  is  that  famous  one  of  the 
Flower  Girl.  She  wears  a  shawl,  which  shows  the 
pretty  patterns  reproduced  in  the  knitted  work  of 
the  Fair  Island  fair.  “  Parallel  lines,  diamonds, 
crosses,  mathematical  figures  of  every  bright  color 
are  here,  intermixed  thread  by  thread,  in  the 
brightest  contrast  and  beauty,  each  row  being 
about  one  inch  in  size.” 

Fishing  is  the  chief  occupation  in  the  Shetlands 
and  the  mainstay  of  existence  of  the  men,  who 
with  their  families  are  very  primitive  and  ortho¬ 
dox  —  for  “  orthodoxy,”  of  the  traditional  sort, 
besides  being  very  easy,  is  a  great  saving  of  brain 
labor.  Of  old,  the  Dutch  used  to  control  the  fish¬ 
eries,  and  during  their  handling  of  them,  it  is  said 
they  derived  a  total  sum  of  more  than  a  billion 
dollars  in  profits  from  the  business.  One  must 
read  “  The  Pirate,”  by  Scott,  to  get  the  atmos¬ 
phere  of  this  little  island  world. 

In  the  Town  Hall  at  Lerwick,  which  is  the 
capital  of  the  Shetland  Islands,  are  modern 
stained-glass  windows  which  illustrate  the  history 
of  the  Shetlands.  Visitors  go  by  steamer  to  the 
Shetlands,  chiefly  to  behold  the  wonderful  cliff 
scenery,  and  men  of  science  to  study  the  work  of 
glaciers.  So  well  used  have  these  wonderful  grav- 


THE  ORKNEYS  AND  THE  SHETLANDS  209 


ing-tools  of  the  Almighty  been,  in  ages  past,  that 
it  is  said  that  no  place  in  the  Shetland  Isles  is 
more  distant  than  three  miles  from  the  sea. 
Scott’s  last  novel,  which  he  named  “  Castle  Dan¬ 
gerous,”  refers  not  to  this  insular  group,  but  what 
a  good  name  for  these  remote  regions  of  Britain, 
so  feared  by  sailors,  the  title  of  his  romance  would 
make ! 

Yet  in  addition  to  Nature’s  handiwork,  done  by 
glaciers,  and  to  the  weird  scenei-y  of  the  rocks, 
chiselled  by  ice  and  lashed  by  the  ever-corroding 
sea  waves,  there  are  works  of  early  man  peculiar 
to  the  whole  north  of  Scotland  beyond  the  Great 
Glen  or  Caledonian  Canal,  which  awaken  curios¬ 
ity,  challenge  attention,  and  hold  the  interest  of 
the  thoughtful. 

These  are  the  roimd  towers,  called  “  burghs,” 
“brochs,”  or  “Piets’  castles.”  We  noticed  these 
in  Sutherland  and  Caithness.  They  are  cylinders 
of  masonry  tapering  upward  into  a  truncated 
cone,  or  are  waisted,  like  a  dice-box.  The  walls, 
composed  of  an  outer  and  an  inner  concentric 
shell  of  untrimmed  stone,  have  been  evenly  set, 
but  without  mortar.  The  rude  masonry  is  bound 
together  by  four  or  five  courses  of  slabs  of  slate, 
placed  crosswise,  so  as  to  leave,  in  the  thickness 
of  the  walls,  a  gallery  of  inclined  plane  winding 
up  to  the  top,  like  a  cork-screw.  They  are  lighted 
by  small  openings  or  slits  in  the  inside.  The  rest 
of  the  wall  is  filled  in  with  loose  stones,  and  it 


210 


BONNIE  SCOTLAND 


may  measure  in  thickness  from  ten  to  fifteen  feet. 
The  towers  vary  in  height,  from  twenty-five  to 
forty  feet,  and  in  diameter,  from  thirty  to  fifty. 
The  little  doors,  on  the  ground  level,  are  low 
and  narrow;  sometimes  not  over  three  feet  high. 
There  are  over  four  hundred  examples  of  these 
towers  in  the  north  and  northwest  of  Scotland, 
and  in  the  isles,  hut  are  all  more  or  less  ruined. 
In  the  Shetlands  are  seventy-five ;  in  the  Orkneys, 
seventy ;  in  Caithness,  seventy-nine  ;  in  Suther¬ 
land,  sixty ;  on  Long  Island,  thirty-eight ;  in  Skye, 
thirty,  etc. 

Not  less  remarkable  are  these  stony  memorials 
of  the  past  than  are  the  peculiarities  of  the  relig¬ 
ion,  social  life,  dress,  and  literary  aspects  of  the 
Highlanders  and  North  Scottish  people  —  com¬ 
posed  as  they  are  of  Norse  and  Celtic  strains. 
These  have  blended  to  produce  a  race  of  people 
that  differs  perceptibly  from  the  southern  Scotch 
Lowlanders. 

Moreover,  in  the  north  and  west  there  was  not, 
as  in  the  south,  such  a  long-continued  struggle  of 
many  and  varied  elements,  local,  continental,  re¬ 
ligious,  artistic,  moral,  and  economic,  nor,  until  a 
century  or  two  ago,  such  a  blending  of  many 
ethnic  stocks,  but  only  of  two  or  three. 

This  comparative  isolation  on  the  one  hand, 
and  exposure  to,  and  penetration  by,  the  manifold 
forces  of  culture  on  the  other,  have  left  their  dif¬ 
fering  results  visible  in  both  history,  human  char- 


THE  ORKNEYS  AND  THE  SHETLANDS  211 


acteristics,  and  deposits  of  thought.  Civilization 
is  of  the  south  and  the  Lowlands;  but  Scot¬ 
tish  music  and  poetry,  in  their  nascent,  original, 
most  forceful  forms,  are  of  the  north  and  west. 
This  is  true,  also,  because  among  the  most  potent 
causes  of  difference  are  the  aspects  of  nature,  so 
strikingly  in  contrast  as  one  nears  England  or 
Norway. 

Scottish  song  and  verse  were  born  among  the 
mountains  nearer  the  North  Star,  and  the  first 
bards  were  hunters  and  cragsmen.  In  the  early 
poetry  and  music  of  no  land,  more  than  in  that 
of  Scotland,  are  primitive  art  and  pre-ancient 
nature  more  in  accord.  “  Amid  all  the  changes 
of  human  feeling  and  action,  we  seem  to  hear  the 
solemn  surge  of  the  Atlantic  breakers,  or  the 
moan  of  the  wind  across  the  desolate  moors,  or 
the  sigh  of  the  pine  woods,  or  the  dash  of  the 
waterfalls  and  the  roar  of  the  floods  as  the  rain- 
clouds  burst  among  the  glens.” 

The  poems  of  Ossian  mirror,  not  the  Lowland 
life  and  scenery,  but  that  of  the  north  and  west. 
This  is  proof  of  the  age-long  differences  that  once 
divided  Scotland.  Archibald  Geikie,  geologist  and 
prose  poet,  who  has  been  familiar  with  the  scenery 
of  the  western  Highlands  from  boyhood,  believes 
that,  laying  Macpherson  aside  altogether,  there 
is  in  the  poems  of  Ossian  “  a  true  poetry  of  local 
form  and  color,  which  could  only  have  been  cre¬ 
ated  in  the  Highlands,  but  which  must  be  of  old 


212 


BONNIE  SCOTLAND 


date,  for  it  alludes  to  characteristics  that  have 
long  since  passed  away.  ...  If  poetry  was  to 
take  birth  in  these  regions  and  to  deal  largely 
with  outer  nature,  as  well  as  with  human  feeling 
and  action,  it  must  have  been  essentially  Ossianic 
—  sad,  weird,  and  solemn.” 

Geikie  says,  again,  that  in  “the  well-known 
contrast  in  style  and  treatment  between  the  north¬ 
ern  and  southern  ballads,  our  national  poetry 
seems  to  me  to  lead  us  back  to  the  fundamental 
distinctions  between  the  physical  features  of  the 
border  country  and  those  of  more  southern  and 
civilized  parts  of  England.  .  .  .  The  varied 
scenery  of  that  wild  borderland  forms  the  back¬ 
ground  of  the  scenery  in  the  poems,  and  accord¬ 
ing  to  their  themes,  we  find  ourselves  among 
rough  moss-hags,  or  in  fertile  dale,  on  bare  moor¬ 
land,  or  sheltered  clowe,  by  forest  side  or  river 
ford,  amid  the  tender  green  of  birken  shaws,  or 
the  sad  russet  of  dowie  dens.  ...  In  the  south¬ 
ern  ballad,  on  the  other  hand,  the  local  coloring 
is  absent,  or  at  least  is  so  feeble  that  it  could  not 
have  had  the  dominant  influence  which  is  exer¬ 
cised  upon  the  imagination  of  the  Northern  min¬ 
strels.  ...  To  my  mind  this  tame,  featureless 
character  is  suggestive  of  the  sluggish  streams 
and  pleasing  but  unimpressive  landscape  amid 
which  the  southern  minstrels  sang.” 


CHAPTER  XX 

LOCH  LOMOND  AND  THE  TBOSSACHS 

The  Scotch  lakes  form  the  one  element  of  re¬ 
pose  in  a  landscape  which,  in  almost  every  other 
feature,  suggests  the  most  terrific  activities  of 
nature.  Excelling  all  in  size,  beauty,  and  roman¬ 
tic  interest  is  Loch  Lomond,  in  Rob  Roy’s  coun¬ 
try.  It  is  the  pride  of  the  Scottish  inland  waters, 
as  Cayuga  is  the  gem  in  the  chain  of  finger  lakes 
in  central  New  York. 

On  our  first  visit  neither  railway  nor  other 
tourist-bringing  facilities,  except  steamboats,  ex¬ 
isted.  Nor  had  the  necessity  of  making  the  lochs 
of  Scotland  the  drinking-glasses  of  towns  near  by 
yet  arisen  in  so  large  a  measure  as  to  threaten  to 
blot  out  some  of  the  strands  and  beaches  famous 
in  song  and  story. 

Exquisite  are  the  islands  —  about  thirty  in 
number  and  lying  chiefly  in  the  southern  part  — 
that  dot  the  surface,  such  as  Inch  Cailliach,  the 
Isle  of  Women,  or  Place  of  the  Nuns;  Inch  Tar- 
ranach,  or  Monk’s  Isle ;  Inch  Fad,  or  Long  Island ; 
Inch  Cruin,  or  Round  Island.  One  of  the  largest 
of  these  is  a  nobleman’s  deer  park.  Inch  Loanig, 
or  Yew  Isle,  where  Robert  the  Bruce  planted  yew 
trees  for  his  bowmen,  and  where  the  wood  of  the 


214 


BONNIE  SCOTLAND 


fiery  cross  was  grown,  and  others  that  have  asso¬ 
ciated  with  their  names  ancient  romance  or  modern 
utility,  possess  a  double  charm.  Geologically,  the 
loch  is  the  remnant  of  an  (amputated)  arm  of 
the  sea,  and  usually  but  a  few  feet  above  the  level 
of  the  great  deep. 

One  of  the  dales  near  Loch  Lomond,  at  whose 
entrance  are  the  ruins  of  an  old  castle,  is  Glen 
Fruin,  the  Glen  of  Sorrow.  Here  a  terrible  battle 
was  fought  between  the  Macgregors  and  the  par¬ 
tisans  of  the  Laird  of  Luss,  the  head  of  the  fam¬ 
ily  of  Colquhon,  in  which  the  Macgregors  were 
victorious  and  the  Colquhons  almost  annihilated. 
There  is  also  a  Holy  Pool  of  St.  Fillan  known, 
where  incantations  used  to  be  made  to  secure  the 
influence  of  the  saint  for  the  recovery  of  insane 
persons. 

It  seems  a  literary  outrage  not  to  read,  as  a 
preparation,  Scott’s  “  Lady  of  the  Lake,”  before 
going  through  the  Trossachs,  or  riding  over  the 
ridge  from  Loch  Lomond  to  Loch  Katrine.  This 
romantic  defile,  whose  Gaelic  name  means  the 
“  Bristled  Country,”  in  allusion  to  its  shaggy 
physical  features,  is  very  narrow  and  beautifully 
wooded.  Properly  speaking,  the  Trossachs  extend 
from  Loch  Achray  to  Loch  Katrine.  They  are 
continued  thence,  by  a  strip  on  the  northeastern 
shore  to  a  point  above  the  now  submerged  Silver 
Strand,  opposite  to  Ellen’s  Isle,  a  distance  of  less 
than  three  miles. 


LOCH  LOMOND  AND  THE  TROSSACHS  215 


A  stage-coach  was  waiting  for  us  at  Inversnaid, 
and  we  were  so  fortunate  as  to  get  a  seat  in  front 
on  the  top  near  the  driver,  who  was  very  intelli¬ 
gent,  and  showed  us  among  other  places  the  woods 
in  which  Roderick  Dhu’s  men  are  supposed  to  have 
retired  for  their  coronach,  or  wailing  over  the  loss 
of  their  great  leader.  On  one  side  are  the  steep 
green  slopes  of  Ben  Venue  to  the  southwest,  while 
on  the  northeast  are  the  precipitous  crags  of  Ben 
A’an.  Wood,  water,  rock,  and  hill  make  a  har¬ 
monious  blending  of  lovely  scenery.  It  was  Sir 
Walter,  the  “  Wizard  of  the  North,”  who  made 
this  ravine  the  Mecca  of  tourists.  In  his  day  there 
was  no  easy  entrance  or  exit.  The  only  access  to 
the  lake  was  by  means  of  a  ladder,  formed  out  of 
the  branches  of  trees  and  roots. 

Scott’s  lines  tell  that 

“  No  pathway  meets  the  wanderer’s  view, 

Unless  he  climb  with  footing  nice 
A  far  projecting  precipice. 

The  broom’s  tough  roots  his  ladder  made, 

The  hazel  saplings  lent  their  aid.” 

In  a  word,  the  Trossachs  remind  one  of  that 
wonderful  geological  fault  in  the  Helderbergs,  in 
New  York  State,  named  “  Indian  Ladder,”  this 
term  recalling  the  old  method  of  entrance.  One 
of  the  finest  passes  and  glens  in  the  White  Moun¬ 
tains  of  New  Hampshire,  as  well  as  the  canyons 
of  the  West,  now  so  well  known  and  enjoyed,  was 
shut  up  at  one  time  by  Nature  in  like  manner. 


216 


BONNIE  SCOTLAND 


Some  of  tlie  romance  of  the  Trossachs  neigh¬ 
borhood  has  been  spoiled,  as  has  the  scenery  of 
the  Catskill  region,  by  the  necessity  of  a  neigh¬ 
boring  great  city’s  practice  of  the  virtue  which  is 
next  to  godliness.  The  vicinity  of  that  ever-thirsty 
conglomeration  of  humanity,  that  needs  refresh¬ 
ment,  cleansing,  and  mill-power,  has  modified  the 
scenery.  The  Glasgow  Water  Company  had  to 
raise  the  banks  of  the  lake  several  feet,  to  form  a 
reservoir  for  the  suppty  of  the  mills  on  the  Teith 
River.  Among  the  sites  thus  desecrated  were  the 
silver  shore,  where  stood  Ellen,  “  guardian  naiad 
of  the  strand,”  before  the  royal  Knight  of  Snow¬ 
don,  and  the  spot  where  Roderick  Dhu  challenged 
Eitz-James  to  single  combat.  Coilantogle  Ford 
long  invited  the  fisherman  to  try  his  luck  and  the 
tourist  to  survey  the  ruins  near  by.  Then  there  is 
the  Loch  Vennachar,  with  its  lovely  island  of  Inch 
Vroin,  which  breaks  its  mirror-like  surface.  On 
the  hillside  overlooking  the  loch  is  a  hollow  on 
the  left  of  the  road  called  “  Lanrick  Mead,”  a  flat 
meadow  which  was  the  gathering-ground  of  the 
Clan  Alpine.  A  mile  beyond  Loch  Menoca,  as 
the  road  slopes  toward  the  Brig  of  Turk,  we  have 
a  varied  and  extensive  prospect,  including  Ben 
V  enue. 

A  sudden  bend  in  the  road  winding  around  the 
margin  of  Loch  Achrae  discloses  the  spur  of  the 
mountain  forming  the  entrance  to  the  Trossachs. 
Slight  wonder  that  this,  one  of  the  finest  views  to 


THE  TKOSSACHS  AND  LOCH  ACTIKAY 


I 


LOCH  LOMOND  AND  THE  TROSSACHS  217 


be  met  with  on  the  way,  was  selected  by  the  artist 
Turner  for  his  illustration  of  “  The  Lady  of  the 
Lake.”  He  visited  Scotland  for  his  book  on  “  Pro¬ 
vincial  Antiquities,”  for  which  Scott  furnished 
the  letter-press. 

Entering  this  wonderful  defile  of  the  Trossachs 
there  is  revealed  a  scene  of 

“  Crags,  knolls,  and  mounds,  confusedly  hurled. 

The  fragments  of  an  earlier  world.” 

Somewhere  near  the  entrance  of  the  gorge,  Fitz 
James  lost  his  “gallant  gray”  horse.  Perhaps, 
even  without  a  silver  suggestion,  our  guide  might 
show  the  exact  spot  where  the  poor  creature’s 
bleaching  bones  once  lay  !  The  rocks  are  verdure- 
clad  and  we  catch  a  glimpse  of  Ben  A’an  rising 
above  the  wooded  precipices  on  the  north. 

Suddenly  emerging  from  the  wild  mountain 
rocks  and  woods,  we  behold,  as  Fitz  J ames  did,  — 

“  One  burnish’d  sheet  of  living  gold, 

Loch-Katrine  lay  beneath  him  rolled; 

In  all  her  length  far  winding  lay, 

With  promontory,  creek,  and  bay, 

And  islands  that,  empurpled  bright. 

Floated  amid  the  livelier  light; 

And  mountains,  that  like  giants  stand. 

To  sentinel  enchanted  land.” 

When  on  the  steamer  we  passed  by  Ellen’s  Isle, 
we  might  have  easily  thrown  a  stone  to  drop  in 
the  place  where  lovely  Ellen  first  looked  upon  the 
Knight  of  Snowdon.  What  painter  could  make 
the  scene  more  lifelike  than  do  the  words  of  Scott  ? 


218 


BONNIE  SCOTLAND 


Another  one  of  the  scenes  described  in  “  The 
Lady  of  the  Lake,”  and  pointed  out  by  the  cice¬ 
rone,  is  the  dread  Goblin’s  Cave.  On  the  other 
side  of  the  hill  is  “the  pass  of  the  cattle,”  by 
which  the  kiue  taken  in  forays  were  conveyed 
within  the  protection  of  the  Trossachs.  In  those 
days  the  defile  was  used  by  the  Highlanders  for 
other  than  strictly  aesthetic  purposes. 

When  we  realize  how  true  it  was  of  the  High¬ 
landers,  as  of  the  sons  of  Jacob,  that  their  chief 
trade  was  in  cattle,  it  is  hardly  to  he  wondered  at 
that  many  of  the  American  highlanders  of  East 
Tennessee,  with  their  Caledonian  ancestry,  con¬ 
cerning  the  property  of  the  cotton  planters  long 
held  the  view  of  Roderick  Dhu.  Nor  is  it  strange 
that  so  many  sturdy  Scotch  youth  have  been 
allured  to  our  own  Wild  West  to  become  cow¬ 
boys  ! 

Yet,  although  it  is  the  Highland  black  ox  that 
figures  so  largely  in  both  poetry  and  economics,  it 
was  the  goat  that  furnished  the  consecrated  blood 
in  which  the  flames  of  the  fiery  cross  were  extin¬ 
guished.  This  terrible  war-gospel  and  signal  with 
anathema  for  assembling  the  clans,  with  its  ban 
of  death  upon  all  faint-hearted  or  recalcitrant, 
furnished  the  final  test  of  loyalty  to  the  chief.  It 
bade  the  bridegroom  leave  his  bride,  the  mourner 
his  bier,  the  only  son  his  widowed  parent,  the 
smith  his  forge,  and  the  fisherman  his  nets  —  all 
to  buckle  on  the  sword.  Scott,  in  a  few  lines  of 


LOCH  LOMOND  AND  THE  TROSSACHS  219 


his  “  Lady  of  the  Lake,”  pictures  its  awful  sig¬ 
nificance. 

No  law-book  or  learned  treatise  can  portray  the 
old  Highland  life  of  the  clan  —  when  the  one  tie 
of  society  was  loyalty  to  the  chief  and  its  symbol 
the  sword  —  as  do  the  writings  of  Sir  W alter 
Scott.  In  old  Japan,  in  which  I  lived,  I  saw  be¬ 
fore  me  a  mirror  of  Celtic  Scotland. 

Yet  to-day,  while  one  may  “  hear  his  own  moun¬ 
tain-goats  bleating  aloft  ”  and  thousands  of  the 
capricious  creatures  are  domesticated  and  available 
for  milk  and  meat,  there  are  thousands  more  that 
are  as  wild  as  if  their  species  originated  in  heather 
land.  Their  keenness  of  vision  and  seent  makes  it 
nearly  impossible  for  hunters  to  get  within  shot 
of  them. 

In  addition  to  the  Lowlander’s  domestic  cattle, 
systematically  “  lifted  ”  during  the  centuries  by 
the  Gaels  or  clansmen,  there  was  a  distinct  breed 
of  Highland  cattle  called  “  Kyloe.”  These  crea¬ 
tures,  in  prehistoric  and  Roman  times,  ran  wild 
over  the  Scottish  peninsula  and  were  espeeiaUy 
numerous  in  the  forest  regions.  Some  few  herds, 
that  are  considered  descendants  of  the  ancient 
wild  oxen,  are  kept  in  Scottish  noblemen’s  parks 
as  curiosities,  much  as  are  the  bisons  —  survivors 
of  the  old  herds  which  once,  millions  strong, 
roamed  our  Western  prairies.  These  of  the  Chil- 
lingham  breed  are  of  a  creamy  white  color. 
Graceful  in  form,  with  short  horns  but  slightly 


220 


BONNIE  SCOTLAND 


curved,  they  are  smaller  than  the  domestic  breeds. 
The  West  Highland  cattle  are  like  these,  but  al¬ 
most  always  of  a  black  color. 

Many  scientific  men  hold  that  the  Chilling- 
hams,  or  reputed  wild  cattle,  are  albinos.  Apart 
from  opinion,  it  is  a  fact  that  when  the  black 
calves  are  born,  they  are  carefully  sorted  out  and 
sold  for  their  veal.  The  true  Highland  cattle, 
which  we  meet  in  herds  on  the  moors  and  see 
painted  lovingly  by  artists,  are  hardy,  imposing, 
and  well  fitted  to  their  climatic  environment. 
With  short,  muscular  limbs,  wide  and  deep  chests, 
long  horns  and  short  muzzle,  and  their  coats  of 
shaggy  hair,  they  are  noticeable  in  the  landscape. 
They  furnish  much  of  the  famed  “  roast  beef  of 
Old  England.”  The  milk  of  the  cows  is  very  rich, 
though  too  scant  in  measure  to  make  dairying 
profitable. 

It  seems  now  fairly  well  agreed  that  the  origi¬ 
nal  ancestor  of  these  local  and  most  of  the  domes¬ 
tic  breeds  of  cattle  in  northern  Europe  was  the 
auroch,  or  European  bison,  contemporary  of  the 
mammoth  and  cave  man,  which  became  extinct 
about  the  beginning  of  the  seventeenth  century. 

Although  Lochs  Lomond  and  Katrine  and  the 
Trossachs  are  not  in  the  Highlands,  yet,  since 
the  majority  of  visiting  Americans  do  not  cross 
the  boundary  separating  the  Azoic  and  Crystal¬ 
line  rocks  from  the  fertile  lowlands,  they  accept 
this  romantic  portion  of  heather  land  as  typical  of 


LOCH  LOMOND  AND  THE  TROSSACHS  221 


the  whole.  It  is  not  the  oldest  part  of  Scotia,  yet, 
in  a  sense,  this  tourist’s  route  is  typical  of  the 
entire  peninsula,  in  suggesting  the  effect  of  Na¬ 
ture’s  face  and  moods  upon  the  human  spirit. 

One  coming  first  to  Scotland  from  a  visit  to 
Ireland  asks  questions. 

Most  striking  in  the  history  of  mankind  is  the 
influence  of  the  scenery  of  a  country  upon  the  na¬ 
tional  temperament.  Compare,  for  example,  the 
two  peoples  of  the  same  race,  the  Celtic  Irishmen 
and  the  Highlanders.  The  islander’s  home  has  a 
mild  climate,  good  soil,  and  a  fairly  level  country, 
where  men  have  been  able  to  live  without  extreme 
toil.  In  spite  of  all  the  Irishman’s  troubles, 
whether  coming  to  him  from  within  or  without, 
he  has  maintained  through  the  ages  the  traits  of 
his  ancestors.  lie  is  naturally  buoyant  in  spirit, 
impulsive,  excitable,  rich  in  wit  and  good  humor, 
but  alleged  to  be  without  that  profound  concep¬ 
tion  of  the  claims  of  duty  which  mark  some  other 
races. 

On  the  contrary,  the  Highlander  is  rather  re¬ 
served,  self-restrained,  not  merry  or  witty,  but 
often  sullen  and  morose.  Yet  he  is  courteous,  du¬ 
tiful,  persevering,  faithful  as  an  ally  and  brave  as 
a  foe.  Surely  the  differing  environments  explain, 
to  a  large  extent,  this  differentiation  between  two 
peoples  of  the  same  original  stock.  The  High¬ 
lander  has  lived  in  a  glen,  narrow,  rocky,  sepa¬ 
rated  from  his  neighbors  in  the  next  glen  by  high 


222 


BONNIE  SCOTLAND 


and  rugged  hills.  On  a  niggardly  soil,  stony  and 
wet,  and  in  a  cold  and  uncertain  climate,  he  has 
battled  for  ages  with  the  elements,  facing  Nature 
in  her  wilder  moods  and  has  not  played  a  win¬ 
ning  game.  Often  he  is  near  starvation,  for  on  his 
little  field  much  rain  and  little  sunshine  falls. 
His  seed  often  rots  in  the  soggy  soil.  The  noise 
of  storm  and  tempest,  of  whirlwind  and  swollen 
waters,  is  ever  in  his  hearing.  He  cannot  he  mirth¬ 
ful  and  light-hearted  like  the  Celt,  but  is  often 
stolidly  obstinate ;  or,  it  may  be,  undauntedly 
persevering.  No  one  who  has  heard  his  music  but 
has  noted  that  melancholy  which  breathes  like  an 
undertone  throughout  his  songs  and  bagpipe  mel¬ 
odies,  even  when  they  cheer  and  inspire  to  duty. 
Nevertheless,  the  proud  Scot  will  boast  of  his 
land  so  full  of  barren  mountains.  “  Iron  them  all 
out  fiat,  and  Scotland  will  be  found  to  be  as  large 
as  England,”  was  the  assertion,  with  triumphant 
air,  of  a  native  who  loved  the  heather. 


CHAPTER  XXI 

ROBERT  BURNS  AND  HIS  TEACHERS 

One  must  not  come  to  Scotland  without  seeing 
Ayr,  the  native  village  of  Burns,  any  more  than 
go  to  Tokio  and  not  get  a  glimpse  of  the  Mi¬ 
kado.  It  is  said  that  more  tourists  hailing  from 
America  visit  annually  the  village  in  which  Rob¬ 
ert  Burns  first  saw  the  light  than  are  seen  at 
Stratford.  This  may  mean  that  there  are  probably 
more  prosperous  and  cultured  descendants  of 
Scotsmen  in  America  than  there  are  of  ancestral 
English  folk.  In  addition  to  the  throng  from 
trans- Atlantic  lands  must  be  counted  a  goodly 
company  of  passionate  pilgrims  from  all  parts  of 
the  British  Empire.  Theodore  Cuyler  tells  us,  in 
his  “  Recollections,”  how  Carlyle,  when  a  boy,  vis¬ 
ited  the  grave  of  the  poet,  his  feelings  allowing 
him  to  say  only,  but  over  and  over  again,  “  Rab¬ 
ble  Burns,  Rabbie  Burns.” 

The  cottage  in  which  the  poet  was  born  is 
probably  in  a  much  more  substantial  condition  to¬ 
day  than  in  Burns’s  infancy.  When  the  poet’s 
father  took  hold  of  the  structure,  it  was  a  “clay 
bigging,”  which  the  parent  rebuilt  with  his  own 
hands.  On  the  night  of  Robert’s  birth,  a  storm 
came  on  and  part  of  the  cottage  fell  in,  so  that 


224 


BONNIE  SCOTLAND 


the  mother  with  the  baby  had  to  fly  for  shelter  to 
the  house  of  a  neighbor  until  the  house  was  re¬ 
paired. 

We  moved  down  to  the  road  opposite  the  new 
florid  Gothic  church  of  AUoway,  where  was  a 
flight  of  steps,  worn  by  the  feet  of  thousands  of 
pilgrims,  leading  over  the  wall  to  “  Alloway’s  auld 
haunted  kirk.”  In  Burns’s  day  the  edifice  was 
whole  and  in  use.  AU  that  is  now  left  of  the 
famous  building  are  four  bare  walls,  two  of  them 
gabled  and  one  of  them  surmounted  by  a  bell- 
cote.  Burns’s  progenitor  is  buried  “  where  the 
rude  forefathers  of  the  hamlet  sleep.” 

We  were  guided  around  by  a  most  unprepos¬ 
sessing  old  native,  a  Dick  Deadeye  in  appear¬ 
ance,  who  insisted  that  “  preachers  were  of  no  use, 
except  to  scold  the  deil.”  He  made  himself  rather 
free  in  his  conversation  with  and  repartees  made 
to  the  clerical  gentlemen  of  the  party,  who  were 
inclined  to  chaff  this  apparently  self-appointed  de¬ 
fender  of  His  Satanic  Majesty.  The  old  Scots¬ 
man  seemed,  with  his  malevolent  eye  (not  whole, 
if  I  remember  aright),  to  be  the  very  incarna¬ 
tion  of  the  dogma  of  total  depravity.  By  a  sort 
of  counter-irritant,  his  wit  served  but  to  stiffen 
up  whatever  “  orthodoxy  ”  —  after  studying  the 
Bible,  with  and  without  the  aid  of  the  creeds  — 
some  of  us  had  left.  In  any  event,  the  cicerone 
“  got  as  gude  as  he  gie.” 

We  glanced  at  the  big  monument  of  nine  Cor- 


ROBERT  BURNS  AND  HIS  TEACHERS  225 


inthlan  fluted  columns  emblematic  of  the  nine 
muses.  With  all  due  respect  to  the  Greeks,  but 
much  less  to  the  Scots,  who  reared  the  token, 
some  of  us  wondered  why  such  a  true  son  of  the 
soil  as  Burns  could  not  have  had  for  his  memo¬ 
rial  in  architecture  something  more  original  than  a 
Greek  temple,  for  Scotland  lacks  neither  brains 
nor  taste. 

Here  is  said  to  be  the  Bible  given  by  Bums  to 
his  Highland  Mary,  held  in  the  hand  of  each  at 
their  last  interview,  while  both  promised  eternal 
loyalty  to  each  other.  This  “blessed  damozel,” 
made  immortal  in  the  poem,  was  Mary  Campbell, 
a  dairy  maid.  Their  last  meeting  was  when, 
“  standing  one  on  each  side  of  a  small  brook,  they 
laved  their  hands  in  the  stream,  and  holding  a 
Bible  between  them,  pronounced  a  vow  of  an  eter¬ 
nal  constancy.”  The  scene  of  the  parting  of  the 
lovers  is  still  pointed  out.  In  returning  from  her 
visit  of  filial  duty,  Mary  fell  sick  and  died  at 
Greenock.  At  EUislan  in  1789,  on  the  third  an¬ 
niversary  of  the  day  on  which  Burns  heard  of  her 
death,  he  wrote  that  loveliest  of  all  his  ballads, 
the  address  to  “Mary  in  Heaven.”  Since  1898, 
one  may  see  her  lofty  statue  reared  in  her  native 
place,  Dunoon,  on  Castle  Hill,  now  famous  for  its 
seaside  villas  and  as  a  summer  resort,  with  Loch 
Eh,  not  far  away.  Thousands  come,  also,  to  see 
the  proof  that  man  worships  woman. 

Nevertheless,  after  his  Highland  Mary,  Burns 


226 


BONNIE  SCOTLAND 


had  many  spasms  of  affection,  for  he  seems  to 
have  worshipped  womanhood.  One  of  his  loves 
was  a  young  girl,  in  whose  honor  he  wrote  a  poem 
when  she  was  about  to  leave  for  America,  whither 
she  went  and  married,  rearing  a  family  of  sons 
wlio  became  famous  in  science.  One  of  her  de¬ 
scendants  settled  at  Ithaca,  New  York,  to  live  by 
the  side  of  our  beautiful  Lake  Cayuga.  It  is  after 
him  that  Port  Renwick  on  its  shores  is  named. 

In  a  grotto,  at  the  end  of  the  garden,  are  the 
figures  of  Tam  o’  Shanter  and  Souter  Johnnie. 
Except  for  the  natural  beauty  of  the  spot  in  the 
Doon  VaUey,  the  country  seems  very  monotonous 
and  uninteresting,  though  the  two  bridges  are 
worth  attention.  One,  “the  auld  bridge,”  has  a 
single  slim  arch,  which  Meg  tried  to  gain  when 
she  fled  from  the  witches.  Here  flows  the  river 
Doon,  to  which  the  writings  of  Burns  have  given 
such  celebrity.  It  rises  in  a  lake  of  the  same  name, 
about  eight  miles  in  length,  and  the  river  has  a 
seaward  course  of  eighteen  miles,  its  banks,  espe¬ 
cially  in  summer  time,  being  laden  with  floral  rich¬ 
ness  and  beauty.  Besides  looking  so  small  to  one 
used  to  the  Hudson,  Susquehanna,  and  Delaware, 
it  seemed  almost  lost  in  trees  and  shrubbery.  Yet 
in  some  parts  its  rocky  banks  are  imposing. 

There  is  also  a  statue  of  Robert  Burns,  between 
whom  and  Americans  there  wiU  ever  be  an  indis¬ 
soluble  bond  of  sympathy.  For,  apart  from  his 
wonderful  work  in  liberating  Scottish  poetry  from 


THE  TAM  O'  SHAXTEU  IXN,  AYR 


ROBERT  BURNS  AND  HIS  TEACHERS  227 


the  bonds  of  classical  moulds  and  traditions,  he  had 
that  profound  sympathy  with  man  as  man,  which 
enabled  him  to  see  into  the  real  meaning  of  the 
French  Revolution  and  its  effect  on  the  whole 
world.  Though  not  blind  to  its  horrors  and  mis¬ 
takes,  he  saw  far  more  clearly  its  ultimate  results 
and  blessings  to  mankind  than  could  the  men  then 
in  power  and  office  in  England.  These,  in  1790, 
were  too  much  like  their  successors  of  1861,  when 
the  struggle  between  slavery  and  freedom  set  ar¬ 
mies  in  shock.  Then  the  British  leaders  of  public 
opinion,  the  proprietors  of  the  Lancashire  cotton 
mills,  “  Punch,”  the  London  “  Times,”  and  even 
the  great  poets  uttered  no  voice  of  appreciation  of 
Lincoln  or  of  the  freedom-loving  American  masses, 
not  only  of  the  North,  but  in  the  highlands  of  the 
South. 

Burns  not  only  taught  in  verse  the  principles 
of  the  American  Declaration  of  Independence,  but 
in  his  famous  lines  made  forecast  of  the  United 
States  of  the  world,  which  our  descendants  are  to  see. 

As  a  creator  of  poetry,  as  one  who  took  the 
genius  of  Scotland  by  the  hand,  as  it  were,  and  led 
her  out  of  the  old  paths.  Burns  will  ever  awaken 
undying  gratitude  among  Scotsmen.  He  drew  his 
inspiration  from  living  nature  and  not  from  dead 
antiquity,  or  from  books,  old  or  new.  To  him,  in¬ 
deed,  there  was  an  antiquity  that  was  living,  and 
that  part  of  the  past  which  was  its  true  and  death¬ 
less  soul,  he  clothed  in  new  beauty.  There  is  no 


228 


BONNIE  SCOTLAND 


nobler  vindication  of  John  Knox  of  the  Reformers, 
who,  with  all  their  shortcomings  and  human  in¬ 
firmities,  demanded  reality  and  the  uplift  of  the 
common  man.  They  gave  Scotland  public  schools, 
and  the  result  was  a  sturdy,  independent,  and  edu¬ 
cated  peasantry.  It  was  from  that  class  that  Burns 
sprang.  John  Knox  and  the  Reformers  made  a 
Robert  Burns  possible. 

Burns  had  the  virtues  and  defects  of  his  class. 
He  had  Ances  that  were  not  peculiar  to  the  com¬ 
mon  people,  but  were  shared  in  by  the  lordly  and 
those  high  in  office.  Apart  from  his  wonder-work¬ 
ing  power  in  the  witchery  of  language.  Burns, 
though  called  “  the  illegitimate  child  of  Calvinism,” 
has  wrought  a  moral  influence  for  good  in  Scot¬ 
land  such  as  can  be  attributed  to  very  few  men 
who  possess  the  reputation  of  higher  sanctity.  For 
besides  Burns’s  strong  common  sense,  lively  imagi¬ 
nation,  keen  sympathy  with  what  was  beautiful  in 
nature  and  noblest  in  man,  —  withal,  in  love  with 
his  native  land  and  ever  susceptible  to  fair  women, 
—  Burns  purified  and  uplifted  popular  song.  Out 
of  the  black  mire  of  the  obscene  and  indelicate, 
he  called  forth  to  bloom  and  glory  deathless  flow¬ 
ers  of  song. 

Burns  seemed  to  be  the  very  incarnation  of  all 
that  was  necessary  to  be  a  true  poet  of  the  people. 
He  illustrated  the  saying,  ascribed  to  more  than 
one  man,  that  others  might  make  the  laws,  but  he 
would  make  the  songs  of  the  people — and  he  did. 


ROBERT  BURNS  AND  HIS  TEACHERS  229 


Many  an  old  snatch  of  song,  bit  of  sentiment,  or 
scrap  of  poetry,  which  in  form  was  vulgar  and  even 
indecent,  he  made  clean.  Purifying  what  was  dear 
to  the  people,  he  set  the  substance  in  new  shape 
and  gave  it  wings  of  song.  Some  of  the  ancient 
ditties,  now  in  happy  oblivion,  are  too  obscene  to 
be  sung  to-day  in  their  old  form  by  refined  society, 
but  after  their  new  baptism  by  Burns,  they  have 
become  teachers  of  piety  that  excel  in  lasting 
power  preachers  or  sermons.  Such,  for  example, 
is  “John  Anderson,  my  Jo,  John,”  now  so  sweet 
and  pathetic.  In  fact,  Burns’s  transformation  of 
certain  specimens  of  Scottish  song  is  like  that 
which  we  have  seen  when  a  handful  of  jewelry,  of 
fashions  outworn,  was  cast  into  the  crucible  made 
white  hot  and  salted  with  nitre.  The  dross  went 
off  into  vapor  and  fumes  and  the  old  forms  and 
defects  were  lost  in  oblivion.  What  was  of  value 
remained.  The  pure  gold  was  not  lost,  rather  set 
free  and  regained.  Poured  forth  into  an  ingot, 
that  would  become  coin  or  jewels,  it  entered  upon 
new  life  and  unto  a  resurrection  of  fresh  beauty. 

Above  all.  Burns  disliked  to  be  tutored  in  mat¬ 
ters  of  taste.  He  could  not  endure  that  one  should 
run  shouting  before  him  whenever  any  fine  objects 
appeared.  On  one  occasion,  a  lady  at  the  poet’s 
side  said,  “  Burns,  have  you  anything  to  say  to 
this?”  He  answered,  “Nothing,  madam,”  as  he 
glanced  at  the  leader  of  the  party,  “  for  an  ass  is 
braying  over  it.” 


230 


BONNIE  SCOTLAND 


Since  the  ploughman-poet  of  Ayr  was  so  gener¬ 
ous  in  confessing  inspiration  and  indebtedness  to 
his  greatest  teacher,  it  is  not  meet  that  we  should 
ignore  this  man  and  name  in  any  real  view  of  the 
forces  making  intellectual  Scotland. 

Robert  Fergusson,  though  less  known  in  coun¬ 
tries  abroad  than  in  Scotland,  was  the  spiritual 
father  of  Robert  Burns  and  none  acknowledged 
this  more  than  Burns  himself.  When  the  man  from 
Ayr  visited  Edinburgh,  in  1787,  he  sought  out 
the  poet’s  grave  and  erected  the  memorial  stone 
which  is  still  preserved  in  the  larger  and  finer 
monument.  Fergusson,  born  in  1751,  was  a  gradu¬ 
ate  of  St.  Andrews.  In  Edinburgh,  he  contributed 
poems  to  Ruddiman’s  “Weekly  Magazine,”  which 
gained  him  considerable  local  reputation.  His 
society  was  eagerly  sought  and  he  was  made  a 
member  of  the  Cape  Club.  Unfortunately,  Fergus¬ 
son  fell  a  victim  to  his  convivial  habits,  and  was 
led  into  excesses  which  permanently  injured  his 
health.  Alcohol  probably  helped  to  develop  that 
brain  disease  usually  called  insanity.  It  was  while 
in  this  condition  that  he  met  with  Dr.  John  Brown, 
of  Haddington,  whose  name  is  a  household  word 
in  Scotland.  The  good  man,  a  sound  Presbyterian 
and  Calvinist,  was  much  more.  He  made  “  the  love 
of  the  Lord”  the  real  and  ultimate  test  of  a  man’s 
orthodoxy.  Brown’s  “  Self -Interpreting  Bible  ”  has 
been  amazingly  popular  throughout  heather  land. 
The  John  Brown,  whom  some  of  us  knew,  who 


ROBERT  BURNS  AND  HIS  TEACHERS  231 


wrote  “  Rab  and  His  Friends,”  and  “  Pet  Mar¬ 
jorie,”  was  the  grandson  of  Fergusson’s  friend. 

After  meeting  with  Dr.  Brown,  Fergusson  be¬ 
came  so  very  serious  that  he  would  read  nothing 
but  his  Bible.  A  faU,  by  which  his  head  was  seri¬ 
ously  injured,  aggravated  the  symptoms  of  insan¬ 
ity,  which  had  already  shown  themselves.  After 
two  months’  confinement  in  the  only  public  asylum 
then  known  in  Edinburgh,  he  died  in  1774.  His 
poems  had  been  collected  the  year  before  his 
death. 

Perhaps  Fergusson’s  fame  rests  as  much  upon 
his  unhappy  life  and  early  death,  and  upon  the 
fact  that  he  was  a  true  forerunner  of  Scotland’s 
greatest  son  of  genius,  as  upon  the  essential  merits 
of  his  verse.  Burns  read  carefully  Fergusson’s 
poems,  admired  them  greatly,  and  called  the  author 
his  “  elder  brother  in  the  muses.”  The  higher 
critics  declare  that  his  influence  on  the  poems  of 
Robert  Burns,  such  as  “The  Holy  Fair,”  “The 
Brigs  of  Ayr,”  “  On  Seeing  a  Butterfly  in  the 
Street,”  and  “  To  a  Mouse,”  is  undoubted.  Even 
“  The  Cotter’s  Saturday  Night,”  when  read  along¬ 
side  of  “The  Farmer’s  Ingle,”  of  Fergusson,  shows 
that  Burns’s  exquisite  picture  in  verse  of  homely 
peasant  life  in  Scotland  is  a  firelight  reflection  of 
the  older  original,  at  which  Burns  warmed  his 
genius. 

With  less  of  an  Immediate  intellectual  debt. 
Burns  was  certainly  obligated  to  an  older  culti- 


232 


BONNIE  SCOTLAND 


vator  of  Scottish  poetry ;  who,  in  large  measure, 
must  be  credited  with  the  revival  of  public  appreci¬ 
ation  of  the  bards  of  Caledonia  and  who  helped 
powerfully  to  create  the  climate  in  which  Burns’s 
genius  could  blossom  and  bear  fruit. 

Among  the  effigies  in  Edinburgh,  city  of  stat¬ 
ues,  is  that  of  AUan  Ramsay,  the  poet  (1686- 
1758).  When  we  first  saw  this  work  of  art,  it  was 
comparatively  new,  having  been  erected  in  1865, 
by  which  time  national  appreciation  had  ripened. 

Ramsay  must  ever  hold  the  gratitude  of  Scottish 
people,  because  he,  more  than  any  one  else,  made 
the  wonderful  world  of  Scottish  music  knovm  in 
England  and  to  the  nations.  He  brought  together, 
in  “  The  Tea-Table  Miscellany,”  a  collection  of  the 
choicest  Scottish  songs.  He  himself  was  a  poet¬ 
aster,  rather  than  a  great  lyrist,  and  throughout 
his  career  proved  himself  a  canny  business  man. 

In  literary  history  AUan  Ramsay  achieved  two 
great  triumphs.  He  contributed  thus  early  to  the 
naturalistic  reaction  of  the  eighteenth  century 
against  the  slavery  to  classicism.  As  an  editor, 
he  furnished  the  connecting  link  between  the 
“  Makars,”  as  verse-writers  were  called  in  the 
Scotland  of  the  fifteenth  and  sixteenth  centuries, 
and  the  poets  Fergusson  (1751-74)  and  Burns 
(1759-96).  Ramsay  did  much  to  revive  interest 
in  vernacular  literature.  He  certainly  stimulated 
an  ignorant  public  to  fresh  enjoyment. 

This  reaction  in  Scotland  was  foUowed  by  one 


ROBERT  BURNS  AND  HIS  TEACHERS  233 


in  England,  for  which  the  publication  of  Bishop 
Percy’s  “  Reliques  of  Ancient  English  Poetry  ” 
furnished  a  sure  foundation.  Scotland  honored 
herself  when  she  honored  her  poet  Ramsay.  Happy 
is  the  nation  that  appreciates  her  sons  who  bid 
her  people  look  within  to  find  enduring  treasure. 
To  Ramsay,  the  prophet’s  words  apply :  “  And 
they  that  be  of  thee  shall  build  the  old  waste 
places ;  thou  shalt  raise  up  the  foundations  of  many 
generations  and  thou  shalt  be  called  .  .  .  the  re¬ 
storer  of  paths  to  dwell  in.” 

The  second  Allan  Ramsay  (1713-84),  an  ac¬ 
complished  scholar  and  gentleman,  was  the  son  of 
the  poet.  Being  carefully  educated  by  his  father 
and  sent  to  Rome  to  study  art,  he  became  an  able 
portrait-painter.  Through  introduction  to  the 
Prince  of  Wales,  afterwards  George  III,  he  rose 
rapidly  into  favor.  To  him  we  are  indebted  for  the 
portrait  of  that  King  George,  with  whose  physiog¬ 
nomy,  more  than  with  that  of  almost  any  other 
sovereign  of  England,  our  fathers  became  very 
familiar  during  the  time  of  their  eight  years’  dis¬ 
agreement  with  His  Majesty  and  his  ministers. 


CHAPTEE  XXII 

KIRK,  SCHOOL,  AND  FREEDOM 

A  VISIT  to  St.  Andrews,  the  home  of  golf  and 
of  ancient  and  modern  Scottish  culture,  compels 
thought.  I  have  met  Scotsmen  who  thought  and 
devoutly  believed  that  there  was  nothing  among 
all  the  lands  of  earth  equal  to  Scotland,  and  in 
Scotland  nothing  greater  than  the  Kirk.  Yet  this 
stout  insistence  has  come  not  alone  from  believ¬ 
ers  in  “the  old  gospel,”  so  called,  but  with  equal 
vehemence  and  cool  conviction  from  men  saturated 
with  the  philosophy  of  common  sense,  even  from 
those  fearing  not  to  be  called  “  freethinkers.”  The 
real  Scotland,  like  the  true  United  States  described 
in  Whittier’s  verse,  seems  to  fear  neither  “the 
puny  sceptic’s  hands”  nor  “the  bigot’s  blinded 
rule.”  At  least,  her  history  teaches  this. 

The  first  heralds  of  the  new  dawn,  whose  advent 
awakened  Scotland  from  her  mediaeval  slumber 
of  intellect,  were  the  Lollards  of  Kyle,  who  were 
among  our  own  spiritual  ancestors.  They  made 
a  great  excitement  in  western  Scotland  in  the  early 
part  of  the  fifteenth  century.  Their  coming  was 
as  refreshing  as  when  a  window  is  opened  in  a 
stuffy  room,  letting  in  God’s  fresh  air.  The  articles 
of  which  the  Lollards  were  accused,  as  Knox  found 


KIRK,  SCHOOL,  AND  FREEDOM 


235 


them  stated  in  the  Register  of  Glasgow,  make  us 
love  these  people,  for  their  faith  and  belief  were 
very  much  like  what  is  held  by  the  mass  of  the 
people  who  live  and  think  in  northern  Europe  and 
in  the  United  States  of  America  to-day.  Some 
things  to  which  they  held  are  still  retained  by 
Christians  who  are  as  wide  apart  as  are  Quakers 
and  Catholics. 

Those  who  cut  down  the  forest  are  often  sur¬ 
prised  at  the  new  and  different  timber  which 
springs  up  from  the  soil.  After  John  Knox,  David 
Hume !  But  if  the  Puritans  and  reformers  had  not 
been  intolerant,  they  would  not  have  been  men  of 
their  own  age.  It  is  to  the  glory  of  these  narrow¬ 
minded  but  high-souled  men  that  they  believed  in 
education.  They  could  not  well  conceive  that  any 
other  belief  was  as  good  as  their  own.  Yet  theirs 
was  not  the  spirit  of  Mahomet,  who  gave  choice 
of  acceptance  of  sword  or  creed ;  for  these  men, 
who  had  a  conviction  themselves  of  the  truth, 
demanded  from  others  the  same  knowledge,  by 
experience  and  enlightenment,  of  these  doctrines 
which  they  believed.  Hence  they  were  earnest  for 
both  elementary  training  and  the  higher  erudition. 

If  living  to-day,  the  spiritual  pioneers  and  re¬ 
formers  would  no  doubt  be  surprised  at  the  visible 
harvest.  Yet  it  was  their  opening  of  dark  places 
to  the  light,  through  the  cultivation  of  the  mental 
soil,  that  made  the  intellectual  landscape  which 
we  see  to-day.  The  Indians  caU  the  plantain  the 


236 


BONNIE  SCOTLAND 


“  white  man’s  footstep,”  because  they  note  that 
the  cutting-down  of  the  dark  forests  and  opening 
the  soil  to  the  sunlight  have  given  the  weeds  also 
their  opportunity ;  so  that,  far  more  numerously 
than  in  the  twilight  of  the  woods,  or  even  in  the  little 
clearings  for  the  corn  and  pumpkins,  the  highways 
and  fields  are  to-day  populous  with  what  we  call 
“  weeds.”  Yet  how  vastly  greater  is  the  crop  of 
what  makes  food  for  man  !  This  is  the  story,  also, 
of  intellectual  culture  in  every  age  and  land.  Per¬ 
haps  it  always  will  be  thus.  The  best  of  all  practical 
philosophy  on  this  subject  is  that  taught  by  the 
greatest  of  teachers  —  “let  both  grow  together.” 
Persecutors,  bigots,  and  tyrants  have  acted  in  a 
different  spirit,  with  appalling  results. 

The  Reformation  was  more  of  a  success  in  Scot¬ 
land  than  in  England,  even  as  men  are  of  more 
value  than  edifices  of  brick  and  stone,  and  the  peo¬ 
ple  of  more  value  than  courts.  It  culminated,  in 
the  lower  part  of  the  island,  in  the  divine  right  of 
kings  and  the  celestial  origin  of  the  Established 
Church,  for  Elizabeth  was  advised  by  Spain  and 
was  strong  enough  to  prevent  any  open  change. 
But  north  of  the  Tweed  the  people  were  more 
generally  educated  and  elevated  to  a  higher  place. 
Hence,  in  Scotland  there  was  no  such  tempest 
raised  as  there  was  in  the  next  century,  in  Eng¬ 
land,  when  one  king  was  decapitated  and  another 
sent  out  of  the  kingdom.  Scotland  saved  herself 
from  stupid  kings  and  a  multitude  of  horrors 


KIRK,  SCHOOL,  AND  FREEDOM  237 

by  previously  giving  her  people  the  rudiments  of 
knowledge.  We  in  America  have  never  had,  from 
English  writers,  either  fair  play  or  full  truth  about 
the  Scots,  nor  is  the  Scotsman’s  part  in  the  making 
of  the  United  States  generally  appreciated.  The 
Scotch  Puritans  not  only  exercised  a  marked  and 
lasting  influence  upon  their  brethren  in  England, 
but  upon  those  beyond  sea.  Next  to  the  Holland¬ 
ers,  who  taught  us  Americans  pretty  much  all  we 
know  of  Federal  Government,  was  the  influence 
of  Scotsmen  in  the  development  of  the  American 
nation. 

The  Normans  gave  to  England  her  universities, 
her  cathedrals,  and  her  legal  system,  but  Scotland 
never  shared  in  the  benefits  of  the  Norman  inva¬ 
sion  as  did  England.  One  may  almost  say  that  in 
place  of  the  nobler  and  creative  side  of  the  Nor¬ 
man  genius  was  Presbyterianism ;  that  is,  repre¬ 
sentative  and  responsible  government  in  the 
Church,  the  actual  rule  being  by  lay  elders  chosen 
by  the  congregation.  Much  of  this  republicanism 
in  things  religious  was  the  work  of  one  man,  the 
greatest  in  a  country  prolific  of  great  men  as 
Scotland  has  been.  John  Knox’s  power  was  re¬ 
sistless,  because  he  trusted  in  God  and  in  the 
common  man. 

It  is  astonishing  how  much  alike  William  the 
Silent,  John  Knox,  and  Abraham  Lincoln  were 
in  putting  confidence  in  the  plain  people.  William 
of  Orange,  the  great  moderate  man  of  the  six- 


238 


BONNIE  SCOTLAND 


teenth  century,  found  that  kings  and  princes  were 
as  reeds  to  lean  upon,  nobles  were  selfish  and  fac¬ 
tious,  but  that  the  common  people,  when  you  put 
confidence  in  them,  could  be  trusted.  John  Knox 
walked  in  the  footsteps  of  William  of  Orange. 
Lincoln  followed  Knox. 

Yet  Knox  was  not  the  founder  of  the  Scottish 
Reformation,  which  had  begun  before  he  had  left 
the  old  Church ;  he  was  its  nurse,  not  its  parent. 
At  first  the  Reformation  in  Scotland,  as  in  some 
parts  of  Europe,  was  a  political,  not  a  religious 
movement.  In  the  beginning  the  Scotch  nobles 
hoped  to  be  enriched  from  the  Church  lands,  as 
their  peers  in  England  had  been ;  but  among  the 
Scottish  people  there  were  gradually  formed  cir¬ 
cles  in  which  education  of  mind  and  heart  went 
on.  Apart  from  the  court  and  nobles,  the  people 
wanted  a  change  for  the  better.  This  general  in¬ 
telligence  among  “  the  commonalty  ”  had  already 
so  undermined  the  structure  of  the  old  political 
Church  in  Scotland  that  when  Knox  blew  his 
bugle  blast,  this  semi-political  edifice  came  tum¬ 
bling  down. 

In  two  hundred  years  Scotland  made  more  prog¬ 
ress  than  any  other  country  in  the  world.  Her 
people,  in  proportion  to  their  numbers,  have  prob¬ 
ably  done  more  for  the  general  advancement  of 
the  race  than  those  of  any  other  modern  nation. 
Yet  the  foundation  of  Scotland’s  prosperity  was 
laid  by  John  Knox  and  his  successors.  Hamerton, 


KIRK,  SCHOOL,  AND  FREEDOM 


239 


who  wrote  that  charming  book,  “  A  Painter’s 
Camp  in  the  Highlands,”  said  in  one  of  his  works 
that,  in  proportion  to  their  small  numbers,  the 
Scots  are  the  most  distinguished  little  people 
since  the  days  of  the  ancient  Athenians,  and  the 
most  educated  of  the  modern  races.  “  All  the  in¬ 
dustrial  arts  are  at  home  in  Glasgow,  all  the  fine 
arts  in  Edinburgh,  and  as  for  literature  it  is 
everywhere.” 

Twice  the  Scots  signally  nullified  the  ambition 
of  kings.  Edward  I,  whom  the  English  count  one 
of  their  greatest  kings,  conquered  Wales  and 
made  it  a  permanent  part  of  the  British  Empire. 
He  thought  he  had  done  the  same  thing  with 
Scotland,  but  there  he  met  a  different  foe,  and 
twenty  years  later,  Scottish  valor  at  Bannockburn 
gave  Scotland  her  independence  forever.  How 
strange  that  this  same  reign  saw  the  death  of 
Roger  Bacon,  the  culmination  of  Christian  archi¬ 
tecture,  and  the  expulsion  of  J ews  from  England ! 

When  King  James  came  to  London,  in  1604, 
he  found  himself  in  such  a  totally  different  atmos¬ 
phere  that  he  tried  to  use  the  power  of  England 
behind  him  to  force  the  rule  of  the  bishops,  in 
place  of  elders,  upon  his  Scottish  subjects.  In 
England  the  Church  lords  told  King  James, 
when  discussing  religious  matters,  that  he  was  in¬ 
spired  of  God.  Those  who  have  read  the  disgust¬ 
ingly  fulsome  praise  of  King  James,  made  in  their 
preface  by  the  translators  of  the  English  Bible  in 


240 


BONNIE  SCOTLAND 


1611,  can  see  that  they  believed  in  the  divine 
right  of  kings.  On  the  contrary,  in  1596,  Andrew 
Melville,  the  preacher,  in  a  public  audience, 
called  James  VI  “  God’s  silly  vassal.”  Said  he  to 
him,  “  I  teU  you,  sir,  there  are  two  kings  and  two 
kingdoms  in  Scotland.  There  is  Christ  Jesus  the 
King,  and  his  kingdom  the  Kirk,  whose  subject 
James  VI  is,  and  of  whose  kingdom,  not  a  king, 
nor  a  lord,  nor  a  head,  but  a  member.  And  they 
whom  Christ  hath  called  to  watch  over  his  Kirk 
and  govern  his  spiritual  kingdom  have  sufficient 
power  and  authority  to  do  so  both  together  and 
severally.” 

The  Scottish  commons,  as  Froude  says,  are  the 
sons  of  their  religion,  and  they  are  so  because  that 
religion  taught  the  equality  of  man. 

The  literature  of  the  subject  of  the  relation  of 
the  king  to  the  people,  which  now  holds  its  place 
triumphantly  in  England,  shows  that  this  theory, 
regnant  in  the  twentieth  century,  originated  and 
was  elaborated  in  Scotland.  The  idea  that  the 
royal  government  arises  from  popular  electoral 
choice,  and  that  for  a  king  to  break  his  part  of 
the  contract  makes  him  forfeit  his  right  and  jus¬ 
tifies  war  against  him, —  which  has  always  been 
the  American  idea,  —  was  first  wrought  out  in 
Scotland.  The  true  theory  of  the  relations  be¬ 
tween  a  king  and  his  subjects  first  appeared  in  a 
book  published  in  Edinburgh,  in  1580.  It  was 
written  by  George  Buchanan,  and  was  the  same 


KIRK,  SCHOOL,  AND  FREEDOM  241 

that  was  burned  by  Englishmen  at  Oxford  in 
1683. 

It  was  not  until  1594  that  Hooker,  in  his  “  Ec¬ 
clesiastical  Polity,”  developed  the  idea  of  a  social 
compact,  which  later  was  expanded  by  John  Locke, 
who  was  so  much  read  by  our  fathers.  Yet  even 
before  Buchanan,  French  writers  had  discussed  the 
rights  and  duties  of  kings  on  the  same  democratic 
lines,  and  William  of  Oi’ange,  in  his  “Apology” 
of  1570,  had  lengthily  exploited  the  idea  and  dem¬ 
onstrated  in  his  life  the  right  to  take  up  arms 
against  princes  who  abused  their  trust.  The 
“  Apology  ”  was  but  the  preface  to  the  Dutch 
Declaration  of  Independence  in  July,  1581  — 
the  political  ancestor  of  ours  of  1776. 

One  who  would  find  out  and  appraise  with  ex¬ 
actness  the  influence  of  Scotland  upon  English 
thought,  previous  to  the  eighteenth  century,  — 
that  is,  during  the  period  of  the  colonization  of  New 
England,  before  the  Commonwealth,  and  later, 
when  American  institutions  were  taking  definite 
form,  —  will  not  find  much  to  the  point  in  Eng¬ 
lish  books  or  documents.  That  Scottish  writers 
and  preachers  were  most  influential  with  English 
Puritans  —  the  same  who  settled  America  —  can¬ 
not  be  gainsaid. 

Neither  can  it  be  denied  that  Puritanism  took 
on  some  dark  and  unlovely  forms.  Yet  we  must 
remember  that  the  work  of  Claverhouse  and  the 
massacres  of  Scottish  Christians  by  Englishmen 


242 


BONNIE  SCOTLAND 


were  taking  place  within  a  few  score  miles  of 
these  very  people  who  first  left  England,  to  find 
a  permanent  home  beyond  the  Atlantic.  These 
English  Puritans  got  their  idea  of  the  equality  of 
man  and  that  sense  of  human  dignity,  which  lies 
at  the  foundation  of  civil  liberty,  in  large  measure 
from  the  Scots,  who  had  already  shown  their  ha¬ 
tred  of  oppression  and  their  contempt  for  differ¬ 
ences  of  rank  founded  only  on  the  accident  of 
birth. 

From  such  a  soil  of  history  and  feeling  sprang 
Burns’s  inimitable  poem,  “  A  man ’s  a  man  for  a’ 
that,”  —  the  consummate  white  flower  of  the  po¬ 
etry  of  humanity.  It  is  barely  possible  that  such 
a  poem  might  have  been  written  in  England  in 
the  eighteenth  century,  but,  as  a  matter  of  fact, 
it  rose  out  of  the  heart  of  a  Scotsman.  In  Eng¬ 
land  the  lesson  of  the  equality  of  man  has  not, 
even  yet,  been  fully  learned.  In  America,  it  is  the 
very  foundation  on  which  our  Government  rests. 
Ahraham  Lincoln’s  Gettysburg  Speech  is  the  an¬ 
swering  and  antiphonic  call  to  the  song  of  Burns. 
In  fact,  we  cannot  understand  how  any  true  his¬ 
tory  of  the  United  States  can  be  written  which 
neglects  the  study  of  Scotland’s  history. 

The  Scottish  people  called  those  prelates  ap¬ 
pointed  by  the  London  Government,  who  collected 
the  revenues  of  their  sees  and  turned  them  over 
to  their  patrons,  “  tulchan  ”  bishops.  These  prel¬ 
ates  got  their  nickname  in  Scotland  from  calf- 


KIRK,  SCHOOL,  AND  FREEDOM 


243 


skins,  stuffed  with  straw  to  make  them  look  like 
cow’s  babies,  with  which  the  dairymen  deceived 
refractory  cattle,  —  mothers  that  refused  to  give 
down  their  milk.  In  1578,  the  General  Assembly 
resolved  that  bishops  should  be  called  by  their 
own  names  and  not  by  their  titles  or  sees,  and 
that  no  vacant  see  should  be  filled  until  the  next 
December.  In  1580,  the  whole  system  was  abol¬ 
ished  when  the  General  Assembly,  meeting  at 
Dundee,  resolved  that  the  office  of  bishop  was  a 
mere  human  invention  unwarranted  by  the  Word 
of  God. 

The  custom  of  British  peers  signing  only  their 
surnames,  or  by  peerage  designations,  though  no 
older  than  the  times  of  the  Stuart  kings,  has  been 
imitated  by  the  prelates  even  on  hotel  registers. 
This  fashion  of  using  geographical  affiliations  with 
their  surnames  only  had  an  amusing  illustration 
while  we  were  in  Scotland.  A  certain  American 
bishop  from  our  neighborhood,  travelling  through 
Europe,  subscribed  himself,  let  us  say,  as  “  Theophi- 
lus  of  Peoria.”  By  accident,  this  worthy  man  of 
God  was  followed  around  by  a  clergyman  of  Scot¬ 
tish  descent,  who  was  not  loath,  for  the  sake  of  a 
good  joke,  to  imitate  the  example  of  so  noble  a  son 
of  the  Church.  He  made  his  sign  manual,  let  us 
say,  as  “  Bartholomew  of  Pony  Hollow.” 

Happily  in  these  our  days  the  Scots  and  Eng¬ 
lish,  though  so  different  in  old  and  fundamental 
ideas,  have  come  to  work  hand  in  hand  together 


244 


BONNIE  SCOTLAND 


in  civil  government.  Even  within  the  fold  of  sal¬ 
vation,  they  dwell  in  Christian  charity,  ever 
agreeing  to  differ  —  the  Episcopalian  in  Scotland 
being  a  “  Dissenter  ”  and  the  Scotch  Presbyterian 
in  England  the  same,  each  being  in  his  own  coun¬ 
try  a  “  Churchman,”  while  the  average  American 
is  amused  at  the  whole  proceeding.  With  what 
a  hearty  roar  of  merriment  a  party  of  us  Bos¬ 
tonians,  when  we  saw  it,  bought,  for  the  fun  of 
the  thing,  a  photograph,  of  cabinet  size,  found  in 
the  London  shop  windows,  of  our  neighbor,  friend, 
and  fellow  Christian,  the  “  Lord  ”  Bishop  Phillips 
Brooks,  of  Yankee  land  and  Hub  fame  and  be¬ 
loved  by  aU  men.  Think  of  an  American  shepherd 
of  God’s  heritage  “  lording  ”  it  over  the  flock ! 
Yet  we  forgave  the  English  printer,  who  probably 
never  noticed  his  own  joke,  or  knew  how  funny  he 
had  made  himself  to  Yankees. 

A  survey  of  Scottish  religious  history,  such  as 
Melrose,  Iona,  and  St.  Andrews  suggest,  shows 
that  in  the  first  working-out  of  the  human  spirit, 
as  it  reacted  upon  form  and  symbol  and  developed 
in  submission  to  discipline  and  the  law  of  unity, 
the  Scottish  churches,  of  necessity,  followed  the 
rule  of  Rome.  The  flowering  of  the  human  spirit, 
in  the  hewn  stone  of  church  and  abbey,  took  on 
forms  of  beauty  akin  to  those  in  the  south,  yet 
with  Gothic  luxuriance.  The  marble  blossomed  in 
air  as  from  the  native  rock,  and  the  artist’s  chisel 
made  gardens  of  beauty.  Wonderful  and  alluring 


KIRK,  SCHOOL,  AND  FREEDOM 


245 


was  the  reality  of  the  mediaeval  landscape,  gemmed 
with  richest  architecture  and  wealthy  in  sacred 
edifices  made  beautiful  with  color,  carving,  gems, 
and  the  gifts  of  the  devout,  the  travelled,  and  the 
wealthy.  The  graceful  edifices,  the  abbeys  and 
monasteries,  the  parish  churches,  the  tithe-barns, 
the  castles  and  bishops’  seats,  made  even  this  far 
northland  a  region  of  charm  and  romance.  Within 
these  sacred  walls,  what  impressive  chants  and 
processions,  incense  and  lights,  and  all  that  re¬ 
splendent  paraphernalia  of  robed  and  costumed 
ministers  of  religion,  which,  whether  in  pagan  or 
Christian  lands,  do  so  appeal  to  the  senses  in 
spectacular  worship  I 

All  this  mediaeval,  dramatic  variety,  so  strongly 
set  in  contrast  to  the  simplicity  of  worship  to-day, 
did,  in  a  certain  sense,  correspond  to  the  contem¬ 
poraneous  glory  of  civil  and  military  splendor  of 
feudal  days.  Then  the  pageant  of  the  titled  knight, 
in  shining  steel  upon  his  proud  steed,  leading  his 
clansmen  in  their  brilliant  tartans,  with  claymore 
and  target,  —  with  a  rich  background  of  the  visi¬ 
ble  splendor  of  castles,  lords  and  ladies,  in  that 
feudal  life  which  Scott  has  idealized,  glorified, 
yes,  even  transfigured  in  his  poetry  and  romances, 
—  was  matched  by  outward  ecclesiastical  magnifi¬ 
cence;  both  systems  making  irresistible  appeal  to 
the  senses  and  both  being  equally  far  removed 
from  the  primitive  simplicity  of  the  Master  and 
his  disciples. 


246 


BONNIE  SCOTLAND 


In  a  word,  Christianity  in  Scotland  wore  the 
garments  of  the  civilization  of  the  age  during 
which  it  took  on  its  material  forms,  changing  its 
outward  habiliments  as  its  gTOwing  spirit  entered 
more  deeply  into  the  old,  unchangeable  truth.  In 
the  case  of  certain  young  nations,  having  charac¬ 
teristics  that  respond  to  what  is  first  offered  them, 
and  in  which  native  traits  can  make  subtle  har¬ 
mony  with  the  imported  religion,  history  marks 
out  but  one  course  —  the  standards  of  religion 
and  civilization  usually  run  in  parallel  lines. 


CHAPTER  XXIII 
JOHN  KNOX:  Scotland’s  mightiest  son 

Scotland  began  the  active  and  aggressive 
Protestantism  of  Europe.  The  people,  taught  by 
John  Knox,  led  the  nations  in  taking  radical 
measures  to  apply  the  principles  of  democracy, 
developed  by  George  Buchanan,  to  the  govern¬ 
ment  of  the  Christian  Church.  In  a  word,  the 
Scottish  people,  and  not  their  kings  or  nobles,  re¬ 
formed  religion  and  were  leaders  in  social  recon¬ 
struction. 

John  Knox  would  not  have  been  a  Scotsman  if 
he  had  not,  when  his  mind  had  been  changed 
through  the  study  of  the  Bible  and  the  writings 
of  Augustine  and  Jerome,  gone  at  once  to  the  ex¬ 
treme  of  opposition.  He  preached  first  to  the  sol¬ 
diers  in  the  garrisons  of  St.  Andrews.  Taken  pris¬ 
oner  by  the  French  fleet,  he  spent  nineteen  months 
as  a  galley  slave,  often  in  irons  and  treated  cruelly. 
Meanwhile  Providence  shaped  events  that  were  to 
influence  America  and  her  future. 

It  seems  strange  to  us  of  to-day  to  think  that 
any  one  in  colonial  America  should  ever  have  had 
a  fear  of  sharing  a  fate  like  that  of  John  Knox 
in  the  French  galleys ;  yet  from  the  time  of  the 
first  colonies  of  French  Huguenots  in  Florida, 


248 


BONNIE  SCOTLAND 


down  to  the  assertion,  by  Jacob  Leisler,  of  the 
people’s  rights  in  New  York,  there  were  tens  of 
thousands  among  the  several  nationalities  that 
made  up  the  American  people  who  felt  this  dan¬ 
ger,  from  the  Bourbons  of  France  or  Spain,  as  a 
quite  possible  reality.  History  makes  strange 
somersaults.  In  seeking  our  American  freedom  in 
the  Revolution,  we  were  militarily  aided  by  the 
former  country  and  were  in  alliance  with  the 
latter. 

Knox,  the  one  man  able  to  stand  up  against 
Queen  Mary,  was  no  amateur  statesman  or  eccle¬ 
siastic.  Besides  his  education  in  the  University 
of  Glasgow  and  the  regular  training  in  the  priest¬ 
hood,  he  had  spent  five  years  as  preacher,  pastor, 
and  pioneer  of  English  Puritanism  in  England, 
—  at  Berwick,  at  Newcastle,  and  in  London, — 
where  he  married  Marjorie  Bowes  and  by  her 
had  two  sons.  He  was  elected  one  of  the  six  chap¬ 
lains  of  Edward  VI  and  was  consulted  about  the 
Anglican  Articles  of  Religion,  and  the  Revision 
of  the  Liturgy.  The  king  offered  him  the  bishop¬ 
ric  of  Rochester,  but  he  declined  for  reasons  of 
conscience,  not  only  because  he  was  opposed  to  the 
secular  business  of  such  offices,  but  chiefiy  be¬ 
cause  in  his  heart  he  believed,  like  the  Independ¬ 
ents,  in  what  our  own  Rufus  Choate  called  “  a 
church  without  a  bishop  and  a  state  without  a 
king.” 

When  the  English  Queen  called  “  Bloody 


JOHN  KNOX 


249 


Mary  ”  came  to  the  throne  and  the  Reformation 
seemed  like  a  sinking  ship,  Knox  was  the  last  to 
leave  the  deck,  yielding  only  to  the  urgency  of  his 
friends.  Except  more  than  half  a  year  in  Scot¬ 
land,  he  spent  five  years  on  the  Continent.  In 
Geneva,  while  sitting  at  the  feet  of  John  Calvin, 
—  that  great  champion  of  democracy  and  of  re¬ 
publican  government,  and  the  real  father  of  the 
public  school  system,  —  he  became  pastor  of  a 
church  of  English  exiles  there,  and  had  a  hand  in 
making  the  Geneva  version  of  the  Bible. 

He  who,  whether  of  the  old  faith  or  the  new, 
or  an  adherent  of  any  church  or  religion,  whether 
Jewish,  Mahometan,  Buddhist,  or  Christian,  looks 
only  on  that  side  which  agrees  or  disagrees  with 
his  own  opinions  and  cannot  see  beyond,  misses 
most  of  the  lessons  of  history.  Whether  we  love 
or  hate  John  Knox,  we  cannot  shut  our  eyes  to 
what  he  did,  both  for  popular  education  and  to 
give  Great  Britain  linguistic  unity.  He  made 
English  the  language  of  literary  and  scholarly 
Scotland.  It  was  his  thorough  knowledge  of  the 
English  language  and  his  choice  and  use  of  it  that 
regulated  Scottish  speech  and  paved  the  way  for 
the  oblivion  of  the  Gaehc.  In  both  the  written 
and  the  spoken  form  of  the  English  language,  he 
followed  the  best  standards. 

When  Queen  Elizabeth  came  to  the  throne, 
she  refused  Knox  passage  through  her  dominions. 
He  had  already  published  his  “  First  Blast  of  the 


250 


BONNIE  SCOTLAND 


Trumpet  against  the  Monstrous  Regiment  of 
Women,”  which  was  aimed  at  the  misgovernment 
of  two  females,  Bloody  Mary  of  England  and 
Mary  Queen  of  Scots.  For  this,  Elizabeth  never 
forgave  him.  Those  who  insist,  according  to  no¬ 
tions  that  have  been  set  forth  in  literary  form, 
that  Elizabeth  was  only  a  male  creature,  a  mere 
man  in  disguise,  may  perhaps  find  their  contention 
weakened  by  the  treatment  of  Knox  by  Queen  Bess. 

Knox  is  even  less  likely  to  be  forgiven  in  an 
era  of  suffragettes  and  agitation  of  votes  for 
women.  Yet  it  must  be  remembered  that  while 
Knox  was  too  manly  to  retract,  because  he  be¬ 
lieved  what  he  wrote  and  retained  his  opinions  on 
this  subject  to  the  last,  yet  he  never  published  his 
intended  second  or  third  “  Blast,”  nor  ever  wished, 
in  any  way,  to  obstruct  the  path  of  Elizabeth. 
Yet  at  this  time  he  was  in  possible  danger  of  the 
headsman’s  axe. 

In  Scotland  he  married  Margaret  Stewart,  of 
a  noble  family,  and  by  her  had  three  daughters. 
In  his  native  land  he  spent  twelve  years  devoted 
to  the  fierce  struggle  and  triumph  of  the  Refor¬ 
mation.  On  his  deathbed  he  could  say  before 
God  and  his  holy  angels  that  he  had  never  made 
merchandise  of  religion,  never  studied  to  please 
men,  never  indulged  his  private  passions,  but 
faithfully  used  his  talents  to  build  up  the  Church 
over  which  he  was  called  to  watch. 

Dr.  Philip  Schaff,  the  greatest  Church  historian 


JOHN  KNOX 


251 


whom  America  has  yet  produced  and  possibly  its 
most  cosmopolitan  scholar,  declares  that  Knox 
“  was  the  incarnation  of  all  the  noble  and  rugged 
energies  of  his  nation  and  age,  and  devoted  them 
to  the  single  aim  of  a  thorough  reformation  in  doc¬ 
trine,  worship,  and  discipline,  on  the  basis  of  the 
Word  of  God.  In  genius,  learning,  wealth  of  ideas, 
and  extent  of  influence,  he  was  inferior  to  Luther 
and  Calvin,  but  in  boldness,  strength,  and  purity 
of  character,  fully  their  equal.  He  was  the  most 
heroic  man  of  a  heroic  race.  His  fear  of  God 
made  him  fearless  of  man.  Endowed  with  a  fear¬ 
less  and  original  intellect,  he  was  eminently  a  man 
of  action,  with  the  pulpit  for  a  throne  and  the 
word  for  his  sword.” 

Carlyle  wrote  a  monograph  on  the  portraits  of 
John  Knox.  He  severely  characterizes  that  patri¬ 
archal,  long-bearded,  but  stolid  picture  of  Knox, 
which  has  been  reproduced  in  many  books  from 
the  Geneva  edition  of  Beza’s  “  leones.”  In  truth, 
we  have  often  wondered  why  most  of  the  pictures 
of  the  old  divines,  handed  down  to  us  from  the 
days  of  cheap  and  rude  wood-cutting  and  black- 
letter  books,  were  not  used  to  frighten  naughty 
children  or  placed  as  scarecrows  in  cornfields. 
Some  readers  will  recall  what  Hawthorne  has  said 
about  some  of  these  worthy  predecessors  of  ours, 
who  lived  during  what  another  son  of  New  Eng¬ 
land  has  called  “  the  Glacial  Age.” 

Carlyle  believed  that  the  Somerville  portrait. 


252 


BONNIE  SCOTLAND 


“  with  a  sharp,  stern  face,  high  forehead,  pointed 
beard,  and  large  white  collar  was  the  only  probable 
likeness  of  the  great  reformer,”  who  had  “  a  beau¬ 
tiful  and  simple,  but  complete  incompatibility 
with  whatever  is  false,  in  word  or  conduct,  inex¬ 
orable  contempt  and  detestation  of  what  in  mod¬ 
ern  speech  is  called  humbug.”  .  .  .  He  was  “  a 
most  clear-cut,  hardy,  distinct,  and  efPective  man ; 
fearing  God  and  without  any  other  fear.” 

Knox  was  a  statesman  as  well  as  a  theologian, 
possessing  rare  political  sagacity  and  intuitive 
knowledge  of  men.  Like  St.  Paul  and  Calvin,  he 
was  small  in  person  and  feeble  in  body,  but  irre¬ 
sistible  in  moral  force. 

The  two  sons  of  Knox,  of  his  first  wife,  were 
educated  at  Cambridge,  but  died  young,  without 
issue.  Of  his  three  daughters,  one,  Mrs.  Welch, 
gained  access  to  the  king  to  ask  the  royal  permis¬ 
sion  for  the  return  to  Scotland  of  her  sick  hus¬ 
band,  who  had  been  exiled  because  of  his  Presby¬ 
terian  convictions.  James  at  last  yielded,  on  con¬ 
dition  that  she  should  persuade  him  to  submit  to 
the  bishop ;  but  the  lady,  lifting  up  her  apron 
and  holding  it  toward  the  king,  replied,  as  her 
father  would  have  done,  “  Please  Your  Majesty, 
I ’d  -rather  kep  [receive]  his  head  there.” 

James  VI  paid  the  brave  woman’s  father  a 
high  tribute  when  he  lifted  up  his  hands  and 
thanked  God  that  the  three  surviving  bairns  of 
Knox  were  all  lasses,  “  for  if  they  had  been  three 


JOHN  KNOX 


253 


lads,”  said  he,  “  I  could  never  have  bruiked  [en¬ 
joyed]  my  three  kingdoms  in  peace.” 

It  is  Knox  himself  who  relates  the  four  or  five 
interviews  which  he  had  with  the  graceful  and 
fascinating  queen,  whose  charms  and  misfortunes 
wiU  ever  excite  sympathy  and  set  men,  who  argue 
from  opposite  premises,  keeping  up  their  endless 
controversies  about  her. 

A  greater  contrast  of  characters  can  hardly  be 
paralleled  in  history.  The  one  intensely  Scotch, 
—  the  right  man  in  the  right  place  ;  the  other 
intensely  French  by  education  and  taste,  —  the 
wrong  woman  in  the  wrong  place.  The  one  in  the 
vigor  of  manhood,  the  other  in  the  bloom  of  youth 
and  beauty.  The  one  terrible  in  his  earnestness, 
the  other  gay  and  frivolous.  The  one  intensely 
convinced  of  God’s  sovereignty,  and  therefore  of 
the  people’s  right  and  duty  to  disobey  and  depose 
treacherous  princes ;  she  thinking  him  a  rude 
fanatic  and  an  impertinent  rebel.  He  confronting 
a  queen,  whom  he  considered  a  Jezebel,  unmoved 
by  her  beauty,  her  smiles,  or  her  tears ;  she 
compelled  to  listen  to  one  whom  she  dared  not  try 
to  destroy. 

It  seems  a  very  shallow  judgment  upon  Knox, 
to  say  that  he  was  a  “  woman-hater.”  On  the 
contrary,  he  was  a  lover  of  good  women,  was 
twice  married,  and  wrote  letters  of  comfort  to  his 
mother-in-law.  The  truth  is  that  in  matters  of  sin 
and  punishment,  right  or  wrong,  truth  or  false- 


254 


BONNIE  SCOTLAND 


hood,  there  was  for  him  neither  male  nor  female. 
Men  must  judge  John  Knox  as  they  must  judge 
any  and  all  who  tower  above  their  fellows,  remem¬ 
bering  that  for  what  he  believed  to  be  his  supreme 
duty  to  God  and  his  Church,  he  made  as  full  a 
sacrifice  of  his  own  personal  consideration  as  of 
others.  Carlyle  declares  that  no  matter  how  we 
may  explain  these  interviews  with  Queen  Mary, 
“  not  one  reader  in  a  thousand  could  be  made  to 
sympathize  with  or  do  justice  to  or  in  behalf  of 
Knox.”  Here,  more  than  elsewhere,  Knox  proves 
himself — and  here  more  than  anywhere  bound  to  be 
so — the  Hebrew  prophet  in  complete  perfection. 

One  feature  in  the  history  of  the  Scottish  con¬ 
science  profoundly  affected  American  life  in  its 
colonial  and  formative  stages  —  the  emphasis  laid 
in  the  Kirk  of  Scotland  on  the  National  Covenants. 
They  were  politico-religious  agreements  for  the 
maintenance  and  defence  of  certain  principles  and 
privileges.  The  idea  was  copied  from  Jewish  prec¬ 
edent.  They  originated  in  that  critical  period 
when  the  sacred  rights  and  convictions  of  the  peo¬ 
ple  were  in  imminent  danger  and  when  the  reli¬ 
gious  and  national  sentiments  were  inseparably 
blended.  They  were  meant  to  defend  the  doctrine 
and  polity  of  the  Reformed  Kirk  against  aU  hos¬ 
tile  attempts  from  within  and  from  without,  and 
the  sentiment  of  those  who  made  them  was  to  die 
rather  than  to  surrender.  One  can  trace  in  these 
historical  movements  of  the  Church  three  periods : 


JOHN  KNOX 


265 


(1)  against  the  Papacy  (1560-1590) ;  (2) 
against  English  prelacy  (1590-1690)  ;  and  (3) 
against  patronage,  until  1875. 

This  custom  of  “  covenanting  ”  had  a  great  in¬ 
fluence  upon  those  people  in  Britain  who  so 
largely  helped  to  make  American  freedom,  the 
English  Pui'itans  and  the  New  Englanders.  To¬ 
day  the  outstanding  feature  of  the  independent 
congregations  of  several  of  the  largest  and  most 
influential  bodies  of  Christians  in  America  is  the 
covenant,  which  is  taken  on  uniting  with  the 
church.  The  covenant,  as  the  expression  of  the 
individual  to  his  Creator  and  Redeemer,  takes 
the  place  of  the  confirmation  vows  which  are  cus¬ 
tomary  in  the  Lutheran  and  Anglican  churches. 
The  “  covenant  ”  was  the  core  of  the  Mayflower 
Compact  and  of  the  Pilgrim  Republic. 

Dr.  Schaff  thus  draws  the  religious  map  of 
Scotland :  “  The  Puritans  overthrew  both  mon¬ 
archy  and  prelacy,  but  only  to  be  overthrown  in  turn 
by  the  nemesis  of  history.  .  .  .  Romanism  in  the 
Highlands  is  only  an  unsubdued  remnant  of  the 
Middle  Ages,  largely  reinforced  by  Irish  emigrants 
to  the  large  cities.  Episcopacy  is  an  English  exotic, 
for  Scotsmen  educated  in  England  and  associated 
with  the  English  aristocracy.  The  body  of  the  peo¬ 
ple  are  Presbyterians  to  the  backbone.” 

The  weak  point  in  the  establishment,  by  Parlia¬ 
ment  in  1690,  of  Presbyterianism  in  Scotland,  was 
the  degree  of  dependence  upon  the  State,  which 


256 


BONNIE  SCOTLAND 


kept  up  a  constant  irritation,  and  which,  from  time 
to  time,  led  to  the  new  secessions  from  the  Estab¬ 
lished  Kirk,  down  to  the  great  exodus  of  the  Free 
Church  in  1843.  But  these  wei’e  not  new  depar¬ 
tures,  but  rather,  like  the  sects  in  Russia,  were 
simply  returns  to  the  old  landmarks. 

We  are  often  amused,  when  in  Scotland,  at  the 
large  number,  some  twenty  or  so,  of  ways  of  being 
a  Presbyterian.  Yet,  looking  into  these  variations 
of  belief,  we  find  that,  whereas  in  other  countries 
these  would  simply  be  different  schools  or  parties 
in  the  same  denomination,  they  gave  rise  in  Scot¬ 
land  to  separate  ecclesiastical  organizations.  Nearly 
all  these  differences  turn  on  minor  matters,  such 
as  psalmody,  patronage,  and  relations  to  civil 
government. 

The  tremendous  earnestness,  scrupulous  con¬ 
scientiousness,  and  stubborness,  which  clothe  these 
minor  questions  with  the  dignity  and  grandeur  of 
fundamental  principles,  are  highly  amusing  to  an 
outsider.  Yet,  in  reality,  they  are  but  the  shadows 
of  a  great  virtue,  for  religion  in  Scotland  is  some¬ 
thing  taken  quite  seriously.  Looking  more  pro¬ 
foundly  under  the  surface  of  the  wavelets  of  dif¬ 
ference  between  the  sects,  one  finds  that  the 
deep-sea  currents  meet  and  fiow  into  a  unity  of 
resistless  movement.  Instead  of  antagonism,  there 
is  harmony ;  and  one  must  acknowledge  that,  in  the 
main,  Scotland  is  marked  for  a  type  of  manly,  sturdy. 
God-fearing,  solid,  persevering  type  of  Christianity. 


JOHN  KNOX 


257 


While  Scotsmen  are  musing  on  what  is  deepest 
in  man,  the  fires  of  devotion  burn  brightly  and 
the  soul  utters  itself  in  song,  so  that  Scotland  is 
not  least  among  the  nations  in  its  repertoire  of 
either  poetry  or  music. 

“  Why  are  the  Scotch  so  different  from  the  Eng¬ 
lish?”  is  a  question  often  asked.  In  my  view  the 
roots  of  the  difference  are  best  discerned  in  a  criti¬ 
cal  study  of  the  Reformation.  In  Scotland  this 
great  movement  of  the  human  mind  was  far  more 
consistent  and  radical  than  in  England,  and  it 
therefore  affected  all  classes  more  thoroughly. 
Even  more  than  a  knowledge  of  racial  elements 
does  an  examination  of  religion  —  the  deepest 
thing  in  man’s  soul  — explain  the  peculiarities  of 
Scottish  as  compared  with  English  life,  character, 
and  temperament.  England  is  politically  free,  but 
is  socially  aristocratic.  Scotland  is  democratic  in 
church  and  society. 

These  historical  facts  are  worth  remembering, 
especially  when  we  reflect  that  the  Lowlanders 
were  of  Teutonic  stock,  like  the  Engbsh.  In  Eng¬ 
land  politics  controlled  religion.  In  Scotland  re¬ 
ligion  controlled  politics.  Hence  common  schools 
were  more  general.  The  leading  figure  was  neither 
a  bishop  nor  a  king,  but  a  plain  presbyter,  John 
Knox.  In  England,  Cranmer,  who  may  be  called 
the  father  of  the  English  Book  of  Common  Prayer, 
was  timid,  cautious,  and  conservative.  Knox,  the 
father  of  the  public  schools  of  Scotland,  was  bold, 


268 


BONNIE  SCOTLAND 


fearless,  and  uncompromising.  It  is  true  that  in 
England  royalty  was  an  almost  resistless  force, 
while  in  Scotland  it  was  but  the  shadow  of  feudal¬ 
ism.  During  these  times  that  tried  men’s  souls, 
England  had  a  wise  queen,  both  forceful  and  suc¬ 
cessful,  while  Scotland’s  sovereign  was  a  woman 
as  remarkable  for  her  blunders  as  for  her  beauty 
and  her  misfortunes. 

Though  the  Scottish  renascence  of  learning  was 
not  so  noticeable  as  in  some  other  countries,  yet 
Scotland,  like  the  Netherlands,  had  its  Erasmus. 
George  Buchanan,  educated  in  Paris,  was  the  tutor 
in  Greek  and  Latin  to  Mary  Queen  of  Scots,  and 
her  son  James.  Yet,  though  learned,  Buchanan 
sympathized  with  the  people.  In  his  famous  book, 
“  De  Jure  Regni  apud  Scotas,”  he  did  but  preach 
in  advance  the  principles  of  the  American  Declar¬ 
ation  of  Independence,  that  “  governments  exist 
for  the  sake  of  the  governed.”  The  paper  on  which 
this  truth  was  printed  was  burned  in  Oxford  dur¬ 
ing  the  Restoration  period  under  Charles  II,  to¬ 
gether  with  those  works  of  John  Milton  on  “  Gov¬ 
ernment  ”  which  fed  the  faith  of  our  fathers  in  the 
right  of  the  people  to  govern  themselves.  Yet  no 
fire  has  ever  yet  been  kindled  which  can  destroy 
the  truth  on  which  the  Constitution  of  the  United 
States  rests.  For  the  intellectual  bases  of  their 
freedom,  Americans  owe  a  debt  to  Scotland  quite 
as  great  as  to  Holland  or  England. 


CHAPTER  XXIV 

INVERGOWRIE:  IN  SCOTTISH  HOMES 

We  have  many  times  and  in  many  coim tries 
proved  the  measure  of  truth  that  is  contained  in 
the  quatrain  which  William  Shenstone  wrote  upon 
the  window  of  a  hostel :  — 

“  Whoe’er  has  travell’d  life ’s  dull  round, 
Where’er  his  stages  may  have  been, 

May  sigh  to  think  he  still  has  found 
The  warmest  welcome  at  an  inn.” 

The  American  traveller  can  also  agree  in  part 
with  Dr.  Johnson  that  “there  is  nothing  which 
has  yet  been  contrived  by  man  by  which  so  much 
happiness  is  produced  as  by  a  good  tavern  or  inn,” 
yet  who,  except  Leighton,  that  sunny  soul,  the 
principal  of  Edinburgh  University,  —  who  was 
“  not  militant  enough  to  please  his  fierce  co-presby¬ 
ters,” —  could  say  “that  if  he  were  to  choose  a 
place  to  die  in,  it  should  be  an  inn  ”  ? 

Our  experiences  of  Scottish  hotels,  “temper¬ 
ance,”  “  hydro,”  ordinary,  fashionable,  rural,  rustic, 
and  what  not,  were  almost  invariably  pleasant,  and 
our  hosts  were  honest  in  their  dealings  ;  yet  in  the 
many  British  homes  in  which  we  were  guests  the 
welcome  was  so  warm  and  the  care  taken  of  us  so 
thorough,  thoughtful,  and  minute,  that  Shenstone’s 


260 


BONNIE  SCOTLAND 


verse  seems  to  have  in  it  more  verbal  music 
than  experimental  reality.  Leighton’s  wish  seems 
strange,  indeed,  especially  in  the  light  of  memory, 
when  sickness,  apparently  nigh  unto  the  bourne  of 
life,  proved  the  depth  of  Scottish  hospitality  and 
friendship. 

Yet  of  aU  the  pictures  of  either  the  stately  or 
the  modest  homes  of  Scotland,  which  now  hang  in 
the  gallery  of  memory,  none  exceeds  in  beauty 
and  charm  those  of  the  home  at  Invergowrie, 
where  we  were  several  times  guests.  Here  was  a 
typical  Scottish  family  of  character  and  culture. 
Father  and  mother  were  in  the  prime  of  life,  health, 
and  manifold  activities.  Around  them  had  grown 
up  a  family  of  sons  and  daughters,  from  the  young¬ 
est,  a  blooming  maiden  of  eighteen,  educated  in 
Germany  and  at  Brussels,  to  the  eldest  son,  who, 
besides  being  active  in  business,  was  an  officer  in 
the  local  volunteer  artillery  corps.  At  night  he 
loved  to  put  on  his  Highland  suit  for  comfort  and 
enjoyment,  as  we  chatted  with  his  friends  on  Brit¬ 
ish  and  American  politics.  One  of  these  talks,  in 
the  billiard-room,  was  soon  after  President  Cleve¬ 
land  had  issued  his  strenuous  proclamation  con¬ 
cerning  Venezuela,  when  British  feelings  were 
hurt  and  when  a  combination  of  tact,  some  knowl¬ 
edge  of  history,  and  of  the  political  and  personal 
motives  of  American  Presidents  was  necessary  to 
the  guest  and  peacemaker. 

The  Invergowrie  family  honored  the  American 


INVERGOWRIE:  IN  SCOTTISH  HOMES  261 


in  Scotland  more  than  once  by  inviting,  to  the 
dinners  given  in  his  honor,  the  professional  gen¬ 
tlemen  of  the  neighborhood  and  from  Dundee. 

While  in  Scotland  one  must  beware  of  what 
toes  he  is  likely  to  tread  upon,  should  he  nurse 
opinions  differing  from  those  welcomed  by  people 
holding  any  of  the  various  shades  of  Presbyterian¬ 
ism,  whom  he  will  probably  meet  anywhere  and 
everywhere.  It  was  in  Scotland,  above  every  other 
country,  that  we  learned  what  it  meant  to  “  mind 
your  p's,"  yet  our  hope  is  that  we  succeeded  meas¬ 
urably.  The  garden  parties,  in  which  the  young 
people  had  their  fun  and  amusement,  the  five 
o’clock  teas,  at  which  the  ladies  of  the  neighbor¬ 
hood  dropped  in  for  chat  and  friendly  calls,  were 
as  delightful  to  enjoy  as  they  are  now  pleasant  to 
recall.  Yet,  as  in  the  United  States  the  county 
fair  excels  all  other  inventions  and  facilities  for 
seeing  the  real,  average  American,  so  I  valued 
most,  for  intimate  knowledge  of  the  Scottish  pop¬ 
ulace  of  all  grades  and  ages,  the  local  exhibitions, 
“  bazaars,”  and  gatherings. 

To  be  present,  as  we  often  were,  to  see  the 
modern  version  of  “  The  Cotter’s  Saturday  Night,” 
—  though  in  this  version  we  mean  a  luxurious 
home,  with  all  the  appointments  of  comfort,  cul¬ 
ture,  and  of  service,  —  crowned  all  delights.  This 
social  situation  in  Scotland  is  necessarily  differ¬ 
ent  from  that  in  America,  where,  in  the  cities  at 
least,  native-born  maidens  so  rarely  take  domestic 


262 


BONNIE  SCOTLAND 


service  in  families.  With  our  composite  people, 
also,  there  is  usually  such  a  disagreement  as  to 
the  theories  of  the  universe,  as  taught  by  priest, 
parson,  and  rabbi,  that  worship  of  the  same  God 
by  all,  at  one  time,  in  the  same  way,  and  in  one 
household,  seems  impossible.  The  head  of  the 
house  or  the  mistress  holds  usually  to  one  form  of 
dogma  or  ritual,  while  the  servants  have  been 
reared  in  an  atmosphere  so  very  different  that 
family  worship,  with  the  “  help  ”  joining  in  or 
present,  is,  to  say  the  least,  not  customary  in  “  the 
land  of  the  free.”  Occasionally  British  visitors, 
who  imagine  that  the  very  mixed  people  called 
Americans  are  descended  chiefly  from  insular  in¬ 
stead  of  continental  stock,  like  the  late  James 
Anthony  Fronde  when  in  New  York  city,  for  in¬ 
stance,  make  disagreeable  discoveries.  At  times, 
in  our  democracy  the  kitchen  rules  the  parlor. 

At  Invergowrie,  as  in  a  score  or  more  of  homes 
on  the  island  in  which  I  have  been  so  often  a 
guest,  the  two  or  three  maids  and  perhaps  a  man¬ 
servant  came  in  with  their  Bibles  and  read,  with 
the  children  of  the  household,  the  Word  which  is 
above  every  other  word  —  the  Father’s  message 
to  his  children.  Where  there  was  but  one  servant, 
the  same  rule  usually  held.  At  Invergowrie,  be¬ 
sides  a  chapter  of  Scripture  and  a  prayer  by  the 
father,  the  high  priest  of  the  family,  the  older  son 
read  one  of  the  Psalms  in  Rous’s  metrical  version. 

The  breakfast  in  Scotland,  as  in  the  British 


INVERGOWRIE:  IN  SCOTTISH  HOMES  263 


Isles  generally,  is  one  that  suits  admirably  the 
free-born  Briton.  It  is  certainly  a  festival  of  free¬ 
dom  for  the  servants,  who  are  usually  apt  to  be 
upstairs  or  attending  to  other  domestic  duties, 
though  in  a  large  family,  the  members  of  which 
sit  down  at  the  same  time,  there  is  usually  one 
maid  present  to  wait  upon  the  table.  At  several 
places  where  I  was  entertained,  even  in  well-to-do 
families,  the  grown  sons  and  daughters  or  mem¬ 
bers  of  the  household  came  and  went  at  their 
convenience,  helping  themselves  at  will  from  dishes 
on  a  sideboard.  After  the  table  has  been  laid  by 
one  of  the  maids,  who  may  or  may  not  remain 
present,  it  may  be  that  the  elder  daughter  serves. 
At  Invergowrie  there  was  a  large,  normal  family, 
consisting  of  parents  and  children,  with  sufficient 
uniformity  of  dispositions  and  habits  to  make  both 
the  breakfast  and  the  dinner  time  a  delightful 
gathering,  with  merriment  and  leisure.  The  news 
of  the  day,  the  happenings  of  the  neighborhood, 
the  things  alike  and  different  as  between  Scot¬ 
land  and  America,  the  annals  of  the  village  fair, 
or  the  social  chat,  or  those  pleasant  nothings  that 
lubricate  life,  made  the  moments  pass  all  too 
rapidly. 

That  father  benign  and  mother  of  imposing 
presence  have  been  long  laid  to  sleep  ;  but  in  Lon¬ 
don,  and  Edinburgh,  and  Dundee,  in  the  world  at 
large,  live  yet  these  sons  and  daughters  of  “  Bon¬ 
nie  Scotland”  who  have  made  the  Americans’ 


264 


BONNIE  SCOTLAND 


memories  of  their  lovely  home  in  their  home  land 
a  storehouse  of  delight. 

Besides  the  private  grounds  of  the  home,  with 
their  trees  and  shrubbery,  there  were  walks  that 
afforded  plenty  of  room  for  rambles.  Still  farther 
afield,  yet  not  far  away  from  either  the  house  or 
the  railway  station,  were  ruins  of  Dargie  Church. 
These  touched  the  imagination  and  called  history 
to  resurrection.  It  appeared  strange  to  come  across 
the  footprints  of  our  old  friend  St.  Winifred,  or 
Boniface,  whom  we  met  with  in  our  studies  of  the 
Pilgrim  Fathers,  and  in  the  Netherlands,  whose 
varied  and  strenuous  life,  as  ecclesiastical  politi¬ 
cian  as  weU  as  saint  and  soldier  of  the  Papacy, 
quite  as  much  as  preacher  of  the  gospel,  was  one 
of  such  amazing  activity.  At  Scrooby  in  England, 
at  Dokkum  in  Friesland,  in  France  and  in  Ger¬ 
many,  where  I  visited  the  places  made  historic  by 
his  activities,  he  left  enduring  marks  of  his  influ¬ 
ence  and  power. 

At  Invergowrie  I  meditated  among  the  ruins  of 
the  old  kirk,  in  which,  or  near  by,  it  is  said,  St. 
Boniface,  the  apostle  to  Germany  and  a  legate 
from  the  Chixrch  of  Rome,  in  the  eighth  century 
preached  and  planned  to  neutralize  the  work  of 
the  Irish  monks  in  favor  of  British  uniformity, 
and  by  means  of  conformity  with  Rome.  Here 
also  are  still  to  be  seen  some  singular  examples 
of  ancient  sculptured  stone  monuments. 

In  1107,  Alexander  I,  son  of  Margaret  of  Eng- 


INVERGOWRIE:  IN  SCOTTISH  HOMES  265 


land,  had  a  residence  at  Invergowrie,  which,  how¬ 
ever,  he  did  not  long  possess,  for  assassination 
was  so  much  of  a  pastime  with  many  and  a  settled 
custom  with  a  few  in  those  days,  that,  after  hav¬ 
ing  escaped  the  dirk  only  by  a  narrow  margin,  he 
left  Invergowrie,  built  a  church  at  Scone,  and 
then  turned  over  the  property  he  left  behind  him 
for  its  support. 

I  recall  that  it  was  at  the  last  of  our  visits  and 
entertainment  at  Invergowrie,  which  was  in  1900, 
after  the  ladies  had  left  the  dinner  table  and  the 
gentlemen  adjourned  to  the  billiard-room  for  a 
smoke,  the  conversation  turned  on  the  next  Eu¬ 
ropean  war,  and  the  possible  relations  of  Great 
Britain  and  the  United  States  in  the  alignment  of 
friends,  foes,  allies,  and  neutrals.  One  prominent 
Dundeean  confessed  himself  not  so  much  exasper¬ 
ated,  as  hurt,  by  President  Cleveland’s  sharp 
method  of  reasserting  the  Monroe  Doctrine,  in 
regard  to  the  boundary  of  Venezuela.  From  our 
town  of  Ithaca,  the  two  scholars,  the  ex-president 
of  Cornell  University  and  Professor  George  Burr, 
had  been  summoned  to  consult  archives,  rectify 
boundaries,  and  help  keep  the  peace.  After  the 
American  in  Scotland  had  emptied  his  cruse  of  oil 
upon  the  waters,  by  explaining  some  of  the  ins 
and  outs  of  American  politics,  the  conversation 
drifted  to  regions  across  the  North  Sea  —  the 
growth  of  the  Kaiser’s  navy,  the  salient  features 
of  German  politics,  and  the  reports,  then  very 


266 


BONNIE  SCOTLAND 


direct  from  the  Fatherland,  that  the  “  Kultur  ”  of 
the  twentieth  century  required  that  “England 
[Great  Britain]  needed  to  be  taught  a  lesson.” 
The  hope  was  warmly  expressed  that,  in  the  com¬ 
ing  clash,  —  then  looked  for  to  come  before  many 
years,  —  the  sympathy,  and  even  aid,  if  necessary, 
of  “  the  States  ”  would  be  forthcoming.  With 
American  friendliness  and  the  possession  of  the 
coaling-stations  of  the  world,  it  was  believed  that 
the  United  Kingdom  could  withstand  the  coming 
shock  and  recover  triumphantly. 

More  than  once,  at  these  social  conferences  with 
Scotsmen,  as  well  as  in  the  press,  I  noted  the 
indignation,  even  anger,  expressed,  that  in  all 
national  affairs  it  was  “  England  ”  and  “  the  Eng¬ 
lish  ”  that  took  and  received  the  credit  for  what 
belonged  to  the  four  nations  making  up  the  United 
Kingdom.  The  claim  was  for  a  more  liberal  use  of 
“  Britain  ”  and  “  British  ”  in  place  of  “  England  ” 
and  “  English.”  Both  Scotch  and  Irish,  to  say 
nothing  of  the  Welsh,  resent  the  assumption  that 
“  England  ”  is  the  British  Empire.  In  a  word,  the 
great  need  of  the  language  used  in  the  British 
archipelago  is  a  common  name  for  the  federated 
four  countries  and  for  all  the  subjects  of  the 
Crown.  Here  is  an  instance  of  the  priceless  value 
of  right  words.  The  absence  of  an  acceptable  com¬ 
prehensive  term  is  a  real  impediment  to  patriotism 
and  an  obstacle  to  perfect  union.  The  fault  is 
in  language,  not  in  the  human  spirit.  The  situa- 


INVERGOWRIE:  IN  SCOTTISH  HOMES  267 


tiou  reinforces  the  argument  that  “  words  are 
things.” 

We  Americans  can  throw  no  stones.  Cana^ 
dians,  Mexicans,  the  southern  republics  below 
Panama,  all  challenge  our  right  to  the  monopoly 
of  “America”  and  “Americans.”  Language  lags 
behind  events. 

When  at  last,  in  1914,  the  great  war  did  come, 
and  the  storm  broke,  no  part  of  the  Empire  re¬ 
sponded  more  quickly,  generously,  fully  than  Scot¬ 
land,  nor  did  any  courage  or  sacrifice  exceed  that 
of  the  Scots  ;  yet,  not  only  was  the  credit  usually 
given  to  “  England,”  but  even  the  prayer  of  hate, 
made  in  Germany,  chose  “  England  ”  as  its  butt. 
Yet  while  Scottish  valor  and  sacrifice  and  Irish 
courage  and  free-will  offerings  of  life  on  the  field 
and  waves  are  unstinted,  who  can  blame  the  poet, 
nay,  who  does  not  say  “  amen,”  to  his  lines,  in  the 
Glasgow  “  Herald,”  written  in  the  closing  days  of 
1915? 

“  The  ‘  English  ’  navy  in  its  might 
Is  out  upon  the  main; 

The  ‘  English  ’  army  —  some  in  kilts  — 

Is  at  the  front  again; 

The  dogs  of  war  are  loosened 
And  gathering  to  the  fray, 

But  the  British  ships  and  British  troops  — 

I  wonder  where  are  they  ? 

“  When  blood  has  flowed  like  water, 

And  ’midst  the  heaps  of  slain 
Lie  stalwart  Scot  and  brawny  Celt 
Who  victory  help  to  gain, 


268 


BONNIE  SCOTLAND 


The  glory  will  be  ‘  England’s,’ 

Like  every  other  thing; 

’T  is  ‘  England  ’  this  and  ‘  England  ’  that  — 
Flag,  navy,  army,  king. 

“  Still  let  Scots  do  their  duty 
In  Britain’s  day  of  war; 

A  greater  cause  than  ‘  England’s  ’ 

Nerves  Scottish  hearts  by  far. 

For  Britain  and  the  empire 
We  Scotsmen  draw  the  sword, 

And  not  like  hired  mercenaries. 

As  if  ‘  England  ’  were  our  lord.” 

During  this  trial  of  the  soul  of  a  nation,  in  the 
wager  of  battle,  to  decide  whether  truth  is  worth 
living  and  dying  for  and  whether  solemn  compacts 
are  as  torn  paper  —  we  catch  a  glimpse  of  a  great 
part  of  the  nation  at  prayer. 

It  is  in  St.  Giles’s  Church,  Edinburgh,  that  the 
General  Assembly  of  the  Church  of  Scotland  holds 
its  annual  sessions  and  the  function  is  made  de¬ 
cidedly  spectacular,  as  is  supposed  to  become  a 
State  Church.  For  two  hundred  and  twenty-five 
years,  the  meeting  has  been  held  without  inter¬ 
ruption.  In  the  brilliant  procession,  the  Lord 
High  Chancellor,  as  representative  of  the  king, 
takes  part,  and  usually  a  regiment  of  the  garrison 
troops  adds  color  and  a  show  of  worldly  might  to 
the  spectacle.  Few  elements  appropriate  to  the 
day  are  omitted,  for  this  is  the  august  assembly  of 
the  “  Church  established  by  law.”  In  the  spring  of 
1914,  the  full  strength  of  the  Cameron  Highland¬ 
ers  was  paraded. 


FOR  THE  WHOLE  WORLD 
(The  Eiliiil)uigli  Conference  of  .Missions) 


INVERGOWRIE:  IN  SCOTTISH  HOMES  269 


But  in  1915,  after  the  gates  of  hell  had  been 
fully  opened  on  the  Continent,  swallowing  up,  it 
is  said,  from  one  regiment,  by  death  and  wounds, 
no  fewer  than  nine  hundred  of  the  Cameron  High¬ 
landers,  leaving  but  one  hundred  unwounded  sur¬ 
vivors,  the  meetmg  was  more  than  usual  like  a 
gathering  of  the  ministers  of  the  Prince  of  Peace. 
The  king’s  representative  on  this  occasion,  the 
Earl  of  Aberdeen,  was  dressed  in  a  soldier’s  serv¬ 
ice  uniform  of  khaki  and  the  military  escort  as 
guard  of  honor  was  a  corps  of  cadets.  The  interior 
phenomena  were  equally  impressive.  Men  cared 
little  for  debate  and  turned  constantly  to  prayer 
and  intercession.  The  high-water  mark  of  interest 
in  the  proceedings  was  on  Foreign  Mission  Day. 
Then  a  strong  note  of  optimism  appeared  regard¬ 
ing  that  work,  in  comparison  with  the  depression 
felt  as  to  other  interests  of  the  Church.  It  was  in 
Edinburgh  that  the  world-wide  conference  upon 
missions  was  held  in  1913,  whose  influence  is  stUl 
felt  throughout  the  whole  earth. 

Perhaps  some  thoughts  turned  to  the  words  of 
the  Almighty  to  Job,  “  And  the  Lord  turned  the 
captivity  of  Job,  when  he  prayed  for  his  friends.” 

Be  this  as  it  may,  can  we  not  all  abide  in  hope 
that  the  ultimate  history  of  “  Bonnie  Scotland  ” 
will  follow  that  of  Job  —  “  Also  the  Lord  gave 
Job  twice  as  much  as  he  had  before.” 


CHAPTER  XXV 
America’s  debt  to  Scotland 

It  is  a  tradition,  rather  than  a  fact,  that  we 
Americans  —  not  of  Canada  —  of  the  United 
States  of  America  are  an  English  people.  The 
burden  of  popular  and  uncritical  historiography 
is  responsible  for  this  notion.  Because  of  the  over¬ 
powering  influence  of  law  and  language,  and  be¬ 
cause  our  most  direct  relations,  in  war  and  in 
peace,  have  been  with  Great  Britain,  it  is  assumed 
that  we  are  both  an  English  people  and  an  Eng¬ 
lish  nation. 

The  result  has  been  confusion  at  home,  pro¬ 
longed  misunderstanding  in  Europe,  and  injustice 
to  those  who  have  contributed  generously  their 
blood  and  energies  to  the  making  and  the  saving 
of  the  nation. 

Without  the  initial  and  formative  elements, 
now  absorbed  into  our  national  composite,  from 
the  Dutch,  Huguenot,  German,  Scottish,  Welsh, 
Irish,  and  Iroquois,  the  existence  and  history  of 
the  United  States  are,  to  the  unprejudiced  mind,  in¬ 
conceivable.  In  this  chapter  we  propose  to  glance 
at  the  debt  we  owe  to  Scotland. 

In  point  of  time,  in  the  unshackling  of  the  hu¬ 
man  spirit,  and  in  the  attainment  of  mental  and 


AMERICA’S  DEBT  TO  SCOTLAND 


271 


spiritual  freedom,  we  have  shown  how  Scotland 
led  Europe;  first  in  revolt  against  kings  and 
prelates,  and  then  in  the  initiative  of  the  con¬ 
structive  principles  of  democracy.  The  spirit  of 
Scottish  history,  of  which  Robert  Bums’s  poem, 
“  A  man ’s  a  man  for  a’  that,”  is  the  epitome,  and 
the  general  education  of  the  common  people  do  in 
themselves  alone  show  how  different  were  and  are 
the  Scottish  from  the  English  people. 

This  early  Scottish  influence,  conveyed  through 
both  theory  and  example,  was  especially  potent 
with  the  founders  of  New  England,  the  Pnritans 
in  Old  England,  and  the  Pilgrims  who,  in  the 
Dutch  Republic,  received  tremendous  reinforce¬ 
ment. 

In  philosophy  —  which  is  greater  than  armies 
or  navies  —  to  no  other  land  or  people  were  the  be¬ 
ginners  of  the  American  nation  more  indebted  than 
to  the  Scotch.  This  may  be  said,  not  only  in  the 
departments  of  political  and  ecclesiastical  science, 
but  equally  so  in  the  domain  of  pure  thought. 
The  Scottish  philosophy  of  realism  and  common 
sense  dominated  largely  our  infant  colleges.  It 
swayed  the  thinking  and  shaped  the  conduct  of 
our  public  men  in  bar  and  pulpit.  It  was  trans¬ 
lated  into  action  by  the  leaders  of  the  Revolution. 

So  long  as  the  Scots  were  able  to  hold  their 
own  against  the  tyranical  Stuart  kings  of  Eng¬ 
land,  and  even  while  they  were  pouring  by  the 
tens  of  thousands  into  Ulster,  making  a  new 


272 


BONNIE  SCOTLAND 


nation  in  northern  Ireland,  —  the  old  land  of  the 
Scots,  —  there  were  hut  few  emigrants,  from 
Scotland  direct,  to  the  Atlantic  Coast  colonies. 
Even  these  were  sporadic  and  mostly  by  way  of 
Holland ;  but  when  the  oppressive  economic  meas¬ 
ures  of  Parliament  ruined  the  Scotch-Irish  indus¬ 
tries,  there  began  an  emigration  of  people  of 
Scottish  birth  or  descent  which  numerically  ex¬ 
celled  any  previous  colonial  accession  to  America. 

Whereas,  the  emigration  from  England  to  New 
England,  mostly  between  1630  and  1650,  had 
added  but  twenty  thousand  souls  to  the  north¬ 
eastern  seacoast  region,  the  Scotch-Irish  migra¬ 
tion,  lasting  fifty  years,  added  fifty  thousand 
hardy,  intelligent,  thrifty  people  who  settled  in 
the  interior  and  on  the  frontiers.  They  not  only 
served  as  a  barrier  against  the  savages,  but  they 
developed  the  soil  of  the  valleys  and  built  their 
towns  on  the  highlands  and  the  watersheds. 

After  the  accession  of  the  Hanoverian  dynasty 
and  the  breaking-up  of  the  old  economic  and 
social  conditions  in  Scotland,  there  poured  into 
America  a  flood  of  Scottish  islanders,  Lowlanders, 
and  Highlanders  from  Scotland  direct,  number¬ 
ing  tens  of  thousands.  From  this  multitude  of  the 
Scots  and  Scotch-Irish,  scattering  widely  and  set¬ 
tling  mostly  on  the  frontiers  and  developing  virgin 
land,  came  forth,  at  the  call  of  the  Continental 
Congress,  one  third  of  the  American  army  of 
freedom  in  the  Revolution. 


AMERICA’S  DEBT  TO  SCOTLAND 


273 


Throughout  our  history  none  have  excelled 
these  lovers  of  ordered  freedom  in  safeguarding 
human  rights  and  in  illustrating  loyalty  to  moral 
convictions  and  public  duty.  The  number  of  able 
men  of  Scottish  descent  who  have  filled  the  high¬ 
est  offices  of  honor  and  trust  in  the  learned  pro¬ 
fessions,  in  pulpit,  bar,  bench,  in  chairs  of  science, 
or  as  governors,  presidents,  officers  of  the  army 
and  navy,  and  in  every  line  of  human  achieve¬ 
ment,  is  not  excelled,  if  equalled,  by  those  of  any 
other  stock  in  the  American  blend  of  nationali¬ 
ties. 

Yet  the  total  value  of  such  an  addition  to  the 
resources  of  manhood,  for  the  making  of  the  fu¬ 
ture  American  commonwealth,  cannot  be  esti¬ 
mated  in  mathematics  only.  In  education  almost 
every  classical  school  and  colonial  college  in  the 
South  was  established  by  these  people.  In  char¬ 
acter  and  abilities  —  trained  and  nourished  by 
education,  morals,  and  religion  —  the  Scotch- 
Irish  were  excelled  by  no  other  people. 

In  our  land  —  new  birth  of  the  ages  —  the 
names  of  the  clans  and  of  individuals  who  bear 
Caledonian  names  do  not  only  call  up  scenes  in 
Scotland’s  history,  but  do  forcibly  emphasize  our 
blessings  of  peace  after  long  strife.  One  of  the 
earliest  Scottish  stories  I  remember  was  of  a 
Grant  and  a  Macpherson,  who  met  one  day  upon 
a  log  spanning  a  chasm.  As  neither  would  give 
way  to  the  other,  their  dirks  settled  the  contro- 


274 


BONNIE  SCOTLAND 


versy  by  subtracting  two  from  the  population  of 
the  Highlands.  In  our  soldier  days,  it  was  delight¬ 
ful  to  see,  under  the  same  flag  and  battling  for 
the  same  Union,  two  generals  —  the  ever-victori- 
ous  James  Macpherson  and  “Unconditional  Sur¬ 
render”  Grant.  Was  it  the  Inverness-born  Mac¬ 
pherson,  or  the  Kentuckian  MacClernand,  who 
uttered  the  prophecy  concerning  the  then  closed 
Mississippi  Valley,  that  “the  men  of  the  West 
would,  with  their  swords,  hew  their  way  to  the 
Gulf  ”  ?  In  any  event,  what  would  the  North  have 
done  had  all  the  men  of  Scottish  descent  been 
subtracted  from  the  hosts  under  Grant  ?  Indeed, 
what  would  American  history  and  the  reality  of 
to-day  be  if  all  the  Scotsmen  who  took  part  were 
eliminated  from  the  story?  Even  in  Civil  War 
days  it  was  largely  the  descendants  of  Scots  who 
made  the  Union  sentiment  in  East  Tennessee  and 
created  West  Virginia. 

The  long  discipline  of  the  Scotsmen,  resulting 
in  the  gifts  and  graces  of  Highlander,  Lowlander, 
and  Ulsterman,  helped  grandly  on  American  soil 
to  make  the  great  Republic  possible.  As  we  have 
seen,  the  tens  of  thousands  of  Scots,  emigrating 
beyond  the  Atlantic,  located  themselves  largely 
along  the  line  and  at  the  post  of  danger  —  among 
the  mountains  they  loved,  on  the  frontier  and  the 
great  American  highlands,  the  Appalachian  chain, 
from  Maine  to  Alabama.  In  the  infant  days  of 
our  nation,  when  the  vital  struggle  was  between 


AMERICA’S  DEBT  TO  SCOTLAND  275 


savagery  and  civilization,  the  Scottish-American 
frontiersman,  alert,  brave,  tenacious,  was  the  man 
for  the  era.  He  would  never  say  “  die  ”  nor  give 
up,  while  life  remained  in  him.  His  record,  both 
with  the  Continentals,  in  the  War  of  Independ¬ 
ence,  and  in  the  Union  army  during  the  conflict 
between  the  States,  is  a  shining  one.  In  the  Con¬ 
federate  forces,  from  1861  to  1865,  the  one  body 
of  men,  selected  by  that  best  judge  of  humanity, 
Professor  N.  S.  Shaler,  of  Harvard,  as  embody¬ 
ing  the  finer  human  qualities  that  shine  brightest 
in  adversity,  was  a  regiment  composed  almost 
wholly  of  descendants  of  men  of  Scottish  stock. 

Even  to  hear  casually  some  of  these  Scottish 
names,  so  interesting  to  us  in  history,  sets  ringing 
the  bells  of  memory,  as  when  Joseph  Henry,  at 
Albany,  first  sent  a  thrill  through  miles  of  wire 
to  make  sound  —  which  Morse,  without  electrical 
research  or  profound  knowledge,  turned  into  writ¬ 
ing,  and  thus  won  the  world’s  glory.  Even  the 
commonplace  names  of  neighbors,  as  our  Scottish 
hosts  in  Dundee,  Invergowrie,  or  Newport-on- 
Tay  mentioned  them  offhand,  set  our  imagination 
on  the  dance  or  to  rambling  to  the  ends  of  the 
earth. 

At  home,  too,  do  we  not  meet  at  school,  in  busi¬ 
ness,  at  garden  parties,  or  in  church,  girls  and 
boys,  friends  and  acquaintances,  or  do  we  not  hear 
of  or  see  eminent  men  and  women  who  bear  these 
their  ancestral  names  most  modestly?  Iramedi- 


276 


BONNIE  SCOTLAND 


ately,  a  carillon  of  associations,  usually  sweet, 
with  “auld  lang  syne”  sounds,  fills  the  secret 
chambers  of  memory.  “  Cochrane  ”  may  bring  up 
a  rosy  face  and  the  laughing  eyes  of  a  pretty  Vas¬ 
sal'  girl ;  “  Macfarland  ”  limns  in  imagination  a 
schoolmate  or  army  comrade;  “Cameron”  pic¬ 
tures  a  fellow  of  infinite  wit ;  “  Macintosh  ”  sug¬ 
gests  eloquence  in  the  pulpit.  Others  recall  the 
haUs  of  Congress,  or  the  seats  of  executives,  or 
the  council  board,  business  experiences,  or  cleri¬ 
cal  scenes,  or  pageants.  It  has  the  sensation  al¬ 
most  of  a  shower  bath,  or  crash  towel  friction,  to 
see  in  court  or  pulpit,  at  clinic,  or  amid  scenes  of 
gentleness,  people  who  bear  ancestral  names  of 
once  slashing  swordsmen,  or  fellows  of  old  famous 
for  lifting  cattle,  or  for  defying  the  king’s  writ, 
of  whom  we  have  read  often  in  poetry  and  ro¬ 
mance.  How  the  centuries  soften  sharp  outlines 
in  the  enchantment  of  distance ! 

It  is  invidious,  if  not  mildly  dangerous,  to  single 
out  names.  Yet  with  one  we  close  our  sketch  of 
“  Bonnie  Scotland,”  choosing  for  praise  the  dead, 
with  no  living  line  of  descendants.  Hepburn,  for 
example,  instead  of  being  associated  in  our  minds 
with  dirks  and  poison,  caste  squabbles,  or  pitched 
battles,  —  after  which  “  the  turf  looked  red,”  — 
calls  up  the  mild  face  of  a  saintly  soul  who  illus¬ 
trated  the  Scripture  promise  of  long  life  because 
of  lips  that  refrained  from  speaking  guile  and  of 
hands  that  ever  healed.  Who  that  is  at  home  in 


AMERICA’S  DEBT  TO  SCOTLAND  277 


Scottish  history  but  has  not  infrequently  run 
across  the  name  of  Hepburn  —  which  reproduces 
in  its  vocables,  not  only  a  Scottish  streamlet,  but 
a  line  of  mighty  men  ?  Who,  also,  that  knows  the 
story  of  the  making  of  modern  Japan  but  has 
heard  of  the  beloved  physician  of  Yokohama, 
known  among  the  native-born  as  Kun-shi  —  the 
sage,  super-man,  gentleman  by  eminence,  who 
spent  his  life  in  unselfish  devotion  to  his  fellow 
men,  as  a  Christian  healer,  scholar,  lexicographer, 
and  philanthropist.  In  the  midst  of  fame  and  for¬ 
tune  won  by  medical  practice  in  the  metropolitan 
city  of  New  York,  James  Curtis  Hepburn  turned 
his  back  on  these,  to  uplift  in  body  and  spirit  the 
people  of  Japan,  when  just  opened  from  hermit¬ 
age  to  modern  life.  In  the  days  of  sailing  ships 
and  at  -the  seaport  where  the  selvages  of  two  civ¬ 
ilizations  met,  I  saw  him,  day  by  day  for  years, 
with  his  healing  touch  dispensing  medicine  and 
cheer.  He  lived  to  make  the  dictionary  which 
bridged  the  linguistic  gulf  between  Orient  and 
Occident,  to  translate  the  Eternal  Word,  to  raise 
up  hundreds  of  effective  physicians,  and,  at  ninety, 
to  be  honored  by  His  Imperial  Majesty  the  Mi¬ 
kado  with  a  decoration,  and  to  live,  in  serene  old 
age,  a  benediction  to  his  neighbors,  until  within 
five  years  of  a  century.  In  him  I  saw  America 
honored  and  the  nobler  Scotland  incarnated. 


THE  END 


CHRONOLOGICAL  FRAMEWORK  OF 
SCOTLAND’S  HISTORY 


PREHISTORIC 

Britain,  “north  of  the  Tweed.”  Piets  and 
various  tribes. 

;  THE  ROMAN  PERIOD 

B.C. 

55.  Julius  Ceesar  lands  in  southern  Britain. 

A.D. 

50.  Romans  in  Britain  learn  of  the  Caledonii 
in  the  north. 

81.  Agricola’s  frontier  between  the  Firths  of 

Forth  and  Clyde. 

82.  The  Ninth  Legion  at  the  Tay  River. 

84.  Great  battle  between  the  Romans  and 
northern  natives. 

84.  Caledonia  circumnavigated. 

120.  Hadrian  erects  the  Roman  Wall. 

139.  Wall  of  Antoninus  Pius. 

181.  Revolt  of  the  Tribes.  Commodus. 

208.  Uprising  of  the  Tribes.  Severus. 

210.  Roman  road  made  through  the  Forth 
Forests. 

364.  Highland  host  invades  the  South. 

368.  Roman  slaughter  of  the  “Scots”  (Irish 
invaders). 

406.  Revolt  of  the  northern  tribes. 

410.  The  Romans  leave  Britain. 


280 


CHRONOLOGY 


PERIOD  OF  ANARCHY  —  FIFTH  TO  SEVENTH 
CENTURY 

Migration  of  the  “Scots”  (Irish)  to  the 
peninsula. 

Fergus,  first  “Scots”  Prince. 

Entrance  of  the  Germanic,  Continental 
tribes  into  Britain. 

Four  kingdoms:  Pictish  (Pictland);  Irish 
(Dalriada);  Brython  (Strathclyde);  and 
“English”  (Benicia). 

CHRISTIAN  SCOTLAND 

563.  St.  Columba  (521-592),  Christian  mission¬ 
ary  at  Iona. 

573.  St.  Kentigern  at  Glasgow. 

651.  St.  Cuthbert  at  Melrose. 

710.  The  Piet  Christians  conform  to  the  Roman 
Church  rules. 

717.  The  Columba  monks  expelled. 

730-761.  The  Piet,  Angus  MacFergus,  paramount. 

802.  Iona  burnt  by  the  Norsemen.  Desolate  for 
two  hundred  years. 

802-839.  The  Scandinavian  sea-rovers  settle  on  the 
northern  coasts. 

844-860.  Kenneth  MacAlpine,  King  of  the  Piets. 

Blending  of  the  Piets  and  Scots  into  one 
people. 

904.  St.  Andrews :  religious  centre.  Stone  of  Scone. 

945.  Malcolm  acquires  northern  Strathclyde. 

1018.  Lothian  part  of  the  Celto-Pict  realm. 

1005-1034.  King  Malcolm  II. 

FEUDAL  SCOTLAND 

1039-1056.  Macbeth  flourishes. 

Ireland,  “the  Land  of  the  Scots,”  is  known 
by  its  modern  name.  “Scotland”  refers 
to  northern  Britain. 


CHRONOLOGY 


281 


1057.  Macbeth  defeated  and  slain  by  Malcolm 
Canmore. 

1066.  Normans  invade  England. 

1058-1093.  Malcolm  Canmore  and  Queen  Margaret. 

Great  social  and  political  changes  in  Scot¬ 
land. 

The  Celtic  Church  gives  way  to  Western 
uniformity. 

Dunfermline,  capital  of  the  realm. 

1124.  Alexander,  King  of  Scotland. 

Planting  of  Norman,  Flemish,  and  Anglican 
colonies  on  east  coast. 

Anglo-Norman  feudalism  in  Scotland. 

David  I,  “The  Maker  of  Scotland,”  builder 
of  abbeys  and  bishoprics. 

1153-1165.  Malcolm  the  Maiden.  Great  Clan  of  Mac¬ 
donalds  formed. 

Ascendancy  of  Anglican  influence.  Inver¬ 
ness  granted  a  royal  charter. 

1165-1214.  William  the  Lion.  Dundee  granted  a  royal 
charter. 

Chimneys  introduced  into  Scotland. 

1249-1286.  Alexander  HI.  Treaty  with  Norway. 

Islands  incorporated  in  the  Scottish  realm. 

1292.  John  Baliol  crowned  on  the  Stone  of 
Scone. 


FIVE  HUNDRED  YEARS  OF  HOSTILITY  TO 
ENGLAND  AND  FRIENDSHIP  WITH  FRANCE 

1297-1305.  Edward  of  England.  Intervention  in  Scot¬ 
land. 

1298.  William  Wallace. 

1274-1329.  Robert  the  Bruce. 

1334-1346.  Battle  of  Bannockburn. 

Scotland  independent. 

Scottish  Parliament  at  Cambuskenneth. 


282 


CHRONOLOGY 


1333-1361.  Struggle  with  Edward  III  of  England. 

King  David  in  Captivity.  Ransom.  Scheme 
of  Union. 

Struggles  between  Scottish  kings  and  nobles 
looking  to  centralization  of  royal  power. 

Partisan  warfare.  The  House  of  Douglas. 

1364.  Proposal  of  Union  with  England  rejected 
by  the  Scottish  Parliament. 

THE  SCOTTISH  KINGS 

1371-1390.  Robert  II.  The  Stuart  line  of  kings  founded. 

Policy  of  Scotland  shaped  by  Earls  Doug¬ 
las,  Mar,  March,  and  Moray. 

English  invasions  of  Scotland. 

1390-1406.  Robert  III.  Beginning  of  nearly  two  cen¬ 
turies  of  royal  minority,  regencies,  and 
nobles’  power.  Decline  of  kingly  author¬ 
ity.  Great  power  of  the  nobles. 

1395.  The  Lollards  in  Scotland:  forerunners  of 
the  Reformation. 

1406-1437.  James  I.  His  reign  a  struggle  against  an¬ 
archy. 

Attempts  to  Anglicize  Scotland. 

Parliament  of  Highlanders  at  Inverness. 
Several  chiefs  seized  and  executed. 

1437-1460.  James  II  marries  Mary  of  Gelderland:  kills 
Douglas  at  Stirling.  Earls  still  powerful. 

THE  RENAISSANCE 

1460-1488.  James  III  marries  Anne  of  Denmark. 

The  thistle,  the  national  badge  of  Scotland. 

Witchcraft.  King  imprisoned  by  the  nobles 
and  assassinated. 

1465-1536.  Hector  Boece  writes  the  “History  of  Scot¬ 
land.” 


CHRONOLOGY 


283 


1488-1513. 

1494. 

1495. 

1496. 

1503. 

1505. 

1507. 

1513. 


1513-1542. 

1537. 

1540. 

1542. 


1542-1587. 

1505-1572. 

1557. 

1565. 

1566. 

1567. 


James  IV.  Modern  History  of  Scotland 
begins. 

Grey  Friars’  Church  in  Edinburgh  built. 

Ayala,  Spanish  envoy  and  writer  on  Scot¬ 
land. 

Music  and  poetry  cultivated. 

University  of  Aberdeen  founded. 

Parliament  decrees  compulsory  education. 

University  of  St.  Andrews.  Hepburn  founds 
St.  Leonard’s  College. 

Marriage  of  James  IV  with  Margaret  of 
England,  at  Holyrood. 

First  Peace  with  England  since  1332.  An 
era  of  prosperity. 

Royal  College  of  Surgeons  founded  at 
Edinburgh. 

Printing  introduced  into  Scotland. 

Battle  of  Flodden  Field. 

THE  REFORMATION 

Rise  of  the  burgesses  and  middle  classes. 

James  V:  minority.  Angus  rules.  James 
escapes  to  France. 

James  marries  Mary  of  Guise,  and  on  her 
decease,  Mary  of  Lorraine. 

Lordship  of  the  Isles  annexed  to  the  Crown. 

Invasion  of  Scotland  by  Henry  VIII. 

King  and  clergy  on  the  Roman,  nobles  on 
the  Reformed,  side. 

Mary  Stuart,  Queen  of  Scots. 

Close  relations  with  France. 

John  Knox. 

Destruction  of  monasteries  and  abbeys. 

Last  Protestant  martyr  burned. 

Queen  Mary  marries  Lord  Darnley. 

Murder  of  Rizzio  in  Holyrood. 

Murder  of  Lord  Darnley. 


284 


CHRONOLOGY 


Marriage  of  Mary  with  Bothwell. 
1567-1625.  George  Buchanan,  scholar,  reformer,  author 
of  De  Jure  Regni  apud  Scotos. 

James  VI  educated  by  George  Buchanan. 


PRESBYTERIAN  SCOTLAND  ■ 

1560.  Foundation  of  the  National  Church. 

First  General  Assembly  of  Scotland. 

1578.  Andrew  Melville  the  Reformer.  Second 
Book  of  Discipline. 

Divine  Right  of  Presbytery  taught.  Nobles 
debarred  from  spoiling  the  Church, 
f  1587.  Execution  of  Mary  Queen  of  Scots. 

1592.  James  gives  Presbyterianism  his  sanction. 
1603.  Union  of  the  crowns  of  England  and  Scot¬ 
land. 

James  VI  of  Scotland  becomes  James  I  of 
England. 

16Q5.  The  Border  region  pacified  and  civilized. 
1606.  The  Union  Jack  flag,  uniting  crosses  of  St. 
George  and  St.  Andrew. 


STRUGGLE  FOR  FREEDOM  OF  CONSCIENCE 

1584-1688.  Scotland’s  fight  against  prelacy. 

1610.  King  James  changes  his  mind.  Attempts 
assimilation  of  Church  of  Scotland  with 
the  Anglican  Establishment. 

1618.  The  Perth  Synod  accepts  episcopacy. 
1600-1649.  Charles  I  asserts  the  royal  prerogative. 

1625.  Attempts  to  fasten  the  liturgy  and  bishops 
upon  Scotland. 

1637.  Jenny  Geddes.  Uproar  in  St.  Giles’s  Cathe¬ 

dral. 

Signing  of  the  National  Covenant. 

1638.  Episcopacy  cast  out. 


CHRONOLOGY 


286 


1645.  Covenanters  compel  Charles  I  to  sign  the 
Covenant. 

1649.  Charles  Stuart,  King  of  England,  executed. 

1650.  Cromwell  in  Scotland. 

1649-1685.  Restoration  of  the  Stuarts.  Charles  II 
crowned,  1660. 

Prelaey  established  in  Scotland.  The  dra- 
gonnades. 

Archbishop  Sharp  assassinated. 

Drowning  of  the  martyrs  at  Wigtown. 

John  Graham  of  Claverhouse.  Battle  of 
Bothwell  Bridge. 

1633-1701.  James  II  of  Great  Britain. 

1680.  James,  Duke  of  Albany,  in  Scotland. 

1685.  Coronation.  The  Roman  ritual  in  West¬ 
minster  Abbey. 


MODERN  SCOTLAND 

1688.  Landing  of  William  III. 

1689.  Battle  of  Killiecrankie. 

1690.  Restoration  of  the  Kirk  in  Scotland. 

1692.  Massacre  at  Glencoe. 

1695-1701.  The  Darien  Scheme. 

1686-1758.  Allan  Ramsay,  poet  and  musician. 

1707.  Union  of  Scotland  and  England. 

1715.  The  Old  Pretender. 

1725.  General  Wade  opens  the  Highlands:  road- 
building. 

The  Black  Watch  Regiment  formed  from 
loyal  Highland  clans. 

1730-1740.  Large  number  of  Scottish  students  in  Eng¬ 
lish  schools  and  universities. 

1745.  “Bonnie  Prince  Charlie.” 

1746.  Culloden.  Scottish  feudalism  ended. 

,  Scottish  history  merged  with  that  of  Great 

Britain. 


CHRONOLOGY 


28G 

1746-1770.  The  Highlanders  assimilated,  enrolled  in  the 
British  army,  or  emigrate  to  America. 

1751-1773.  Robert  Fergusson,  poet. 

1773.  Dr.  Samuel  Johnson  visits  the  Hebrides  and 
Highlands.  His  book  an  epoch-maker. 

1773.  Fingal’s  cave  first  described. 

1759-1796.  Robert  Burns. 

1802.  The  Edinburgh  Review  started. 

1771-1832.  Sir  Walter  Scott:  poetry,  1805-1815;  prose, 
1814-1830. 

1822.  Caledonian  Canal  opened. 

1795-1881.  Thomas  Carlyle. 

1843.  Disruption.  Formation  of  the  Free  Church 
of  Scotland. 

1830.  Railway  system  inaugurated. 

1846.  Large  emigration  to  America. 

1819-1901.  Queen  Victoria.  In  the  Highlands  often, 
from  1852. 

The  Highlands  become  game  preserves. 

1915.  The  225th  meeting  of  the  General  Assembly 
in  Edinburgh. 


INDEX 


INDEX 


Abbeys,  18,  63,  146. 

Abbotsford,  41-43. 

Abercrombie,  145. 

Aberdeen,  191-96. 

Agricola,  15,  61,  202,  279. 
Alexander  I,  264. 

Alexander  III,  281. 

Allan,  Mr.  Robert,  133. 

Alloway  Kirk,  224. 

America,  10,  25,  183,  184,  240,  262, 
267. 

America’s  debt  to  Scotland,  270- 
77. 

American  Civil  War,  80,  227. 
American  drinks,  141. 

American  influences  in  Scotland, 
25,  148,  265. 

American  officers,  176,  197. 
Americans  in  Scotland,  25,  202, 
259. 

Anachronisms,  48,  49. 

Ancestors,  33,  60,  61. 

Anchor  Line,  6. 

Animals,  35-37,  110. 

Appalachian  chain,  274. 

Archery,  151. 

Architects,  40. 

Architecture,  39-42,  67,  106,  127, 
191,  225,  244. 

Armstrongs,  60. 

Arran,  9,  13. 

Art,  ii,  36,  67,  102, 187,  233,  239. 
Artillery,  104, 169. 

Asquith,  Mr.,  198. 

Assembly,  General,  243,  284,  286. 
August  12th,  183,  184. 

Auld  Reekie,  30. 

Auroch,  220. 

Australia,  86,  123. 

Automobile,  164. 

Ayr,  223,  224,  229,  231. 

Azoic  rock,  164,  165. 

Baalam,  98, 

B.agpipes,  ffl2. 

Ballaculish,  110. 

Ballads,  66,  226. 

Ban,  69, 186. 

Bannerman,  Sir  Campbell,  198. 
Bannockburn,  100,  199,  239,  281. 
Banns,  45. 

Barnum,  F.  T.,  98. 


Bayonets,  168-63, 172. 

Bazaars,  261. 

Beaton,  Cardinal,  78,  79, 106. 

Beds,  91,  153,  18p. 

Bees,  182. 

Bell,  Henry,  16,  25. 

Bell  Rock,  192. 

Ben  Nevis,  133,  136. 

Ben  Venue,  216. 

Bible,  106,  224,  225,  239,  247,  249, 
262,  277. 

Birds,  7,  183. 

Birnam  Wood,  92. 

Bishops,  243,  248,  284. 

Black  Watch,  285. 

Blaikie,  Professor,  192. 

Blood,  198. 

Bloody  Mary,  249,  260. 

Boece,  Hector,  89,  282. 

Boethius,  182. 

Bonnie  Prince  Charlie,  132,  148, 
153,  156-62,  192,  285. 

Border  Land,  47,  50-64,  284. 
Boston,  61,  110,  244. 

Bothwell  Bridge,  285. 

Bowen,  Marjorie,  115. 

Branksome  Hall,  38,  41,  66. 
Bre<akfast,  262,  263. 

British  army,  207,  286. 

British  Empire,  260-68,  286. 
Brooks,  Phillips,  244. 

Brooms,  180. 

Brown,  Dr.  John,  230,  231. 

Bruce,  George,  197,  198. 

Bruce,  Robert,  9,  10,  15,  40,  41,  70, 
77, 192,  281. 

Bruce,  Thomas,  196. 

Buccleughs,  60. 

Buchanan,  George,  240,  247,  258, 
284. 

Burns,  Robert,  3,  28,  70,  130,  223- 
33,  242,  271,  286. 

Burr,  Prof.  George,  265. 

Byron,  46. 

Caesar,  278. 

Cairn,  148. 

Caithness,  31,  65,  210. 

Caledonia,  51,  53. 

Caledonian  Canal,  131,  132,  141, 
164,  210,  286. 

Calvinists,  114,  228,  230,  249. 


290 


INDEX 


Cambuskenneth,  281. 

Cameron,  276. 

Cameronian  Regiment,  268,  269. 
Campbell,  117. 

Canada,  122,  123. 

Canals,  108,  110,  131,  132. 

Canmore,  Malcolm,  69,  70,  73,  146. 
Canon  Gate,  30. 

Cape  Club,  230. 

Cardross  Castle,  15. 

Carlyle,  Thomas,  123,  223,  262-54, 
286. 

Carnegie,  Andrew,  68,  71-73. 
Carse,  83. 

“  Castle  Dangerous,”  209. 

Castles,  15,  34,  65,  92,  99,  133,  168. 
Cathedrals,  19, 199,  200. 

Cattle,  219,  220,  276. 

Cattle-lifting,  166,  169,  218. 
Cavalry,  139,  148,  149. 

Caves,  125. 

Cayuga  Lake,  226. 

Celtic  Scotland,  62,  65-67,  156, 
280. 

Celts,  67,  166,  210. 

Cemeteries,  146,  224. 

Chambers,  152. 

Characteristics,  221,  261. 

Charles  I,  284,  285. 

Charles  II,  71,  167,  258. 

Cheviot  HiUs,  52,  54. 

Chillingham  cattle,  219,  220. 
Chimneys,  21,  98,  173,  174,  281, 
China,  47,  107,  197. 

Choate,  Rufus,  248. 

Christianity,  11,  53,  126,  129,  186, 
211  16  256. 

Churchill,  Winston,  198. 
Churchman,  244. 

Cities,  26,  67. 

Civilization,  210,  246. 

Clans,  170-72,  175,  189. 
Claverhouse,  81, 115,  116,  241,  285. 
Claymores,  149-51. 

Cleveland,  President,  260,  265. 
Clyde,  Firth  of,  14, 119. 

Clyde  River,  14,  16. 

Cochrane,  276. 

Cockades,  162. 

Coilantogle  Ford,  216. 

Collies,  36. 

Colors,  178-83,  186,  208,  245. 
Colquhon,  214. 

Columba,  St.,  23,  24,  125,  126,  146, 
280. 

Confederate  Scots,  275. 
Constance,  56. 

Cornell  University,  73,  205. 
Coronach,  215. 

Costume,  185-90. 

“  Cotter’s  Saturday  Night,”  130, 
231,  261,  262. 


Covenants,  71,  264,  265,  284,  285. 
Cowboys,  61. 

Crafts  and  Guilds,  81,  195,  196. 
Cranmer,  257. 

Cranstoun,  Sir  William,  69,  63. 
Crieff,  164. 

Cromwell,  Oliver,  146,  167,  285. 
Crops,  121,  174,  235. 

Crosses,  58,  128,  200. 

Crusades,  41, 187,  191. 

Culdees,  71. 

Culloden,  147-64, 168, 189,  286. 
Cumberland,  Duke  of,  152,  176. 
Cumbria,  24. 

Cuyler,  Theodore,  223. 

Dalrymple,  115. 

Dances,  135,  139,  140, 146. 

Danes,  125,  127,  128,  206. 

Dante,  38. 

Dargie  Church,  264. 

Darien  Scheme,  286. 

Darnley,  282. 

David  I,  281. 

Declaration  of  Independence, 
227,  241,  258. 

Deer,  213. 

Democracy,  26,  67,  257,  262,  271. 
Denmark,  202,  203,  282. 

Deserted  villages,  94. 

Dick  Deadeye,  224. 

Dies  irse,  42,  43. 

Dissenters,  244. 

Distilleries,  133,  141,  181. 

Dogs,  35-37. 

Dokkum,  264. 

Doon  Valley,  226. 

Douglas,  41,  102,  103, 191. 
Dragonades,  285. 

Dragons,  85,  86. 

Dress,  135, 143, 163, 162, 185-88, 210, 
269. 

Drinks.  See  Tea,  Whiskey. 
Druids,  71, 126. 

Drumclog,  116. 

Drummossie  Moor,  147-54, 168-62. 
Dryburgh,  43,  44. 

Dulwich  Galleries,  208. 
Dumbarton  Castle,  15,  65. 
Duncan,  91. 

Dundee,  67,  68,  76-87, 116,  263. 
Dunfermline,  65,  68-74,  281. 
Dunkeld,  53,  91,  92. 

Dunoon,  226. 

Dunottar  Castle,  192. 

Dunsinane,  90-94. 

Dutch,  191,  208. 

Earthquakes,  146. 

Economics,  189. 

Edinburgh,  26-37, 168, 230, 263, 628, 
I  269. 


INDEX 


291 


Edinburgh  Castlo,  74. 

“  Edinburgh  Review,”  286. 
Education,  235,  283. 

Edward  I,  100,  199,  281. 

Edward  III,  281. 

Edward  VI,  248. 

Edward  VII,  203. 

Electricity,  26. 

Elgin,  196-201. 

Elizabeth,  Queen,  236,  249,  258. 
Ellen,  216. 

Ellen’s  Isle,  214,  217. 

Elliots,  60, 

Ellislan,  225. 

Emigrants,  122,  139,  140. 

Empire,  British,  190. 
Engineering,  272,  286. 

England,  266-68. 

English  in  Scotland,  66,  165,  237. 
English  language,  249. 
Episcopacy,  225, 284.  See  Bishops. 
Erskine,  Ralph,  71. 

Ethnic  elements,  210. 

Fair  Island,  207. 

Family  worship,  262. 

Faroe  Islands,  207. 

Fergus,  280. 

Fergusson,  Robert,  230,  231,  286. 
Feudalism,  55,  56,  84,  98,  122,  166, 
168-72,  245,  258,  281,  282,  285. 
Field,  Eugene,  86,  87. 

Fiery  Cross,  218. 

Fife,  68,  69. 

Fillmore,  Millard,  196,  197. 
Fingal,  125. 

Fingal’s  Cave,  123,  124,  286. 
Firearms,  160,  159,  172. 

Firth  of  Forth,  64. 

Fisheries,  34,  194,  195,  208. 

Fitful  Head,  205. 

Fitz-James,  62,  166,  216,  217. 
Flags,  157,  284. 

Floaden  Field,  283. 

Flora  MacDonald,  149. 

Flowers,  148,  152. 

Food,  121,  122,  194. 

Football,  68,  59. 

Forbes  of  Culloden,  189. 

Foreign  missions,  269. 

Fort  Augustus,  138. 

Fort  Willi,am,  132. 

Foyers,  138. 

France,  32,  106,  107,  153,  247,  248, 
283. 

Free  Churchmen,  44,  46. 

Free  Church  of  Scotland,  286. 
French  Revolution,  227. 
Friesland,  264. 

Frontiers,  60-64, 141. 

Froude,  J.  A.,  262. 

Fuing  land.  Sec  Feudalism. 


Gaelic  speech,  12,  53,  126, 133, 163, 
165. 

Gaels,  12,  165. 

Gallows  Hill,  206. 

Games,  133-36,  146. 

“  Gardeloo,”  32. 

Garden  parties,  261. 

Geddes,  Jenny,  284. 

Geikie,  Archibald,  212. 
Gelderland,  203. 

Geology,  14,  119,  123,  131, 164,  203. 
George  III,  233. 

German  Ocean,  131,  192-96, 
Germany,  202, 260,  264-66. 

Giant’s  Causeway,  9. 

Gillespie,  Thomas,  71. 

Glaciers,  33,  208. 

Gladstone,  Mr.,  196. 

Glamis,  90. 

Glasgow,  16-26,  216,  267. 

Glencoe,  110-12,  286. 

Glen  Fruin,  214. 

Glens,  221,  222. 

Goats,  174,  218,  219. 

Goblin’s  Cave,  218. 

Golf,  234. 

Gordon  Highlanders,  144. 

Gothic  architecture,  107. 

Gowrie,  84. 

Gows,  84. 

Grampian  Hills,  61,  98,  120,  164. 
Granite,  193. 

Grant,  273,  274. 

Greek,  192,  225. 

Greenock,  14,  226. 

Gretna  Green,  44-46. 

Grey  Friars’  Church,  105,  282. 
Grinins,  76,  77. 

Grouse,  183,  184. 

Hamerton,  239. 

Hamilton,  10. 

Hanoverian  dynasty,  167,  272. 
Harris,  Townsend,  197. 
Hawthorne,  251. 

Heath  bell,  182,  185. 

Heather,  177-85. 

Hebrides,  117,  119,  120. 

Henry,  Joseph,  275. 

Hepburn,  283. 

Hepburn,  J.  C.,  276,  277. 
Heraldry,  187. 

Hessians,  162. 

Highland  costume,  33,  260. 
Highlanders,  53,  117,  221,  222. 
Highland  Marv,  14,  225. 
Highlands,  65-67,  141,  164-76,  211, 
220,  286. 

High  Street,  32,  199. 

History,  64,  67,  74,  80. 

Holland,  36,  106,  191,  206,  237. 
Holmes,  Dr.  O.  W.,  95. 


INDEX 


292 


Holy  Isle,  55. 

Holy  Fool,  214. 

Holyrood,  283. 

Homes,  259-GG. 

Honey,  174-75,  182. 
Hooker,  241. 

Hospitality,  68,  80,  259-61. 
Hotels,  164,  259,  2G0. 
Houses,  31,  173-75. 

Hume,  David,  235. 

Huts,  173-75,  180. 

Hydros,  259. 

Hygiene,  31. 


Inch  Caillaich,  213. 

Inch  Cruin,  213. 

Inch  Fad,  213. 

Inch  Loanig,  213. 

Inch  Tarranach,  213. 

Inch  Vroin,  216. 

Independents,  255.  See  Pilgrim 
Fathers. 

India,  200. 

Indian  Ladder,  215. 

Indian,  159.  See  Iroquois. 

Inns.  See  Hotels. 

Insane  people,  214,  231. 

Invasions,  51-54,  157,  282,  283. 
Invergowrie,  83,  84,  259-67. 
Inverness,  142-47,  281. 

Iona,  119,  244,  280. 

Ireland,  7,  11,  14,  74,  75,  113,  140, 
188,  280. 

Irishmen,  139,  140,  221,  222,  279, 
280. 

Irish  missionaries,  205. 

Iroquois,  35,  63,  150,  167,  205. 
Irving,  Washington,  42,  88. 
Islands,  213,  216. 

Ithaca,  139,  226,  265. 

Ivanhoe,  42. 


Jacobites,  132,  147,  164,  192. 
James  I,  103,  106, 146,  282. 

James  II,  282,  285. 

James  III,  101,  203. 

James  IV,  283. 

James  V,  101,  105,  283. 

James  VI,  34,  69,  60,  101,  106,  236, 
240,  252,  258,  284. 

Japan,  20,  35,  47,  57,  68,  96,  127, 
135,  171,  197,  219. 

Jardines,  60. 

Job,  269. 

“John  Anderson,  My  Jo  John,” 
229. 

John  o’  Groat’s  House,  56. 
Johnson,  Dr.  Samuel,  65, 109, 122, 
128,  167,  173,  259,  286. 

Jougs,  84,  85. 

Jute,  80. 


Kail,  167. 

Kenneth,  11,  06. 

Kentigern,  St.,  23,  280. 

Kerns,  170-72,  189. 

Kerr,  Sir  Robert,  58. 

Kerrs,  60. 

Khaki,  269. 

Killiecrankie,  116,  168,  285. 
Kingdoms,  280. 

Kings,  236,  239,  240. 

Kirk,  234,  254,  256,  284,  285. 
Kirkwall,  203. 

Kitchener,  Lord,  29. 

Knitting,  206. 

Knox,  John,  18,  20,  78,  106,  228, 
237,  238,  247-54,  283. 

Kyloe,  219,  220. 

“  Lady  of  the  Lake,”  214,  217. 
Lakes,  131, 141,  213-16. 
Lamberton,  45. 

Landlords,  66. 

Landscape,  13,  20,  47,  54,  98,  186, 
212  245. 

Land  tenure,  169-72. 

Lang,  Andrew,  65-96. 

Language,  3,  56,  67,  69,  121,  128, 
249,  266. 

Lanrick  Mead,  216. 

Law,  44-46. 

“  Lay  of  the  Last  Minstrel,”  38- 
41,  65. 

Lee,  Joseph,  81,  82. 

Leighton,  259,  260. 

Leisler,  Jacob,  112,  248. 

Leith,  34. 

Lemprifere,  52. 

Lerwick,  205,  208. 

Libraries,  43,  67,  72,  201. 

“  Limited,”  117. 

Lincoln,  Abraham,  29, 95, 227, 237, 
242. 

Lindisfarme,  56. 

Ling,  177. 

Loch,  214. 

Lochaber,  134. 

Loch  Achray,  214,  216. 

Loch  Katrine,  214,  217. 

Loch  Lomond,  213-16. 

Loch  Nenacar,  216. 

Locke,  John,  241. 

Lollards,  234,  282. 

London,  184,  194,  248,  262. 

Lord  of  the  Isles,  121,  146,  200, 
283 

Lowlands,  24,  47,  65,  67,  166. 
Macaulay,  112. 

Macbeth,  6,  88-94,  146,  280,  281. 
MacClernand,  274. 

Macdonalds,  112,  121,  151,  281. 
Macdougalls,  112, 113. 


INDEX 


293 


Macduff,  84. 

Macfarland,  276. 

Macgregors,  214. 

Macintoshes,  159. 

MaoMurtrie,  142. 

Macpherson,  273,  274. 

Mahomet,  235. 

Makars,  232. 

Malcolm  Canmore,  69,  70,  73,  146, 
280. 

Malcolms,  90,  91,  280,  281. 

Map,  65. 

Margaret  of  Denmark,  203. 
Margaret,  Queen,  34,  69, 70,  73-75, 
264,  281. 

Marmalade,  174. 

Marmion,  56,  117,  198. 

Marriage,  11  46. 

Mary,  Highland,  14,  226. 

Mary  of  Gelderland,  282. 

Mary,  Queen  of  Scots,  34,  81,  156, 
248,  250-54,  258,  283,  284. 
Mascots,  35. 

Mather,  Bailie,  79. 

Maxwells,  60. 

Mayflower,  255. 

Medieval  institutions,  244-46. 
Meg,  226. 

Melrose  Abbey,  38-43,  244. 
Melville,  Andrew,  20,  192,  240. 
Middle  Ages,  47-48. 

Mikado,  223. 

Miller,  Hugh,  3. 

Milton,  258. 

Misprints,  130. 

Missionary  interest,  269,  276,  277, 
Monasteries,  18,  53. 

Monk,  General,  132. 

Monks,  22,  69,  86,  127. 

Monroe  Doctrine,  260,  266. 
Montrose,  191,  192. 

Monuments,  56,  116,  224,  225. 
Moorish  art,  207,  208. 

Moors,  178. 

Moray  Firth,  147. 

Morse,  275. 

Moss  troopers,  57-60,  63. 
Mountains,  103,  104,  215. 

Mungo,  22. 

Murillo,  208. 

Music,  116-20,  162,  163,  211,  222, 
283. 

Names,  22,  60. 

National  League  and  Covenant, 
71. 

Navy,  268,  269. 

Necropolis,  19,  20. 

Netherlands,  23,  157,  191. 
Nevilles,  60. 

Newport-on-Tay,  275. 

New  York,  14. 


Nobles,  238. 

Normans,  237,  281. 

Norsemen,  7,  205. 

North  Sea,  194,  195. 
Northumbria,  54. 

Norway,  203,  206,  211,  281. 

Oatmeal,  174. 

Oban,  108, 109. 

Orcades,  202. 

Order  of  the  Thistle  (St.  An¬ 
drews),  206. 

Orkneys,  96,  202-04,  210. 

Ossian,  111,  212. 

Oxen,  218-20. 

Oxford,  241,  258. 

Pageants,  195. 

Parks  72  201. 

Parliament,  183,  202,  265,  272,  281, 
282,  283. 

Peat,  7,  182. 

Pebbles,  137,  138. 

Pei-ho,  197. 

Pennsylvania,  10,  60,  72,  118. 
Pentland  Firth,  131,  203. 

People,  the,  130,  237,  238,  240. 
Percy’s  “  Reliques,”  233. 

Perry,  Commodore,  197. 
Philadelphia,  23,  42,  72, 139,  155. 
Philosophy,  4,  20,  234,  236,  271. 
Piets,  95,  96,  146,  182,  280. 

Pilgrim  Fathers,  255,  264,  271. 

“  Pirate,  The,”  208. 

Pittencrieff,  71,  72. 

Pladda,  10. 

Plaids,  109,  153,  186. 

Poetry,  227-33. 

Police,  60,  62. 

Pomona,  203. 

Ponies,  204. 

Portraits,  251,  252. 

Prayer,  261,  262,  268,  269. 
Preachers,  224. 

Prelates,  242,  284,  285. 
Presbyterians,  71,  171,  237,  265, 
256,  261,  284. 

Prescott,  61. 

Prestonpans,  168. 

Pretenders,  157. 

Princes  Street,  28. 

Princeton,  4,  58. 

Printing,  283. 

Proverbs,  180,  198,  201. 

Public  schools,  226. 

Puritans,  235,  241,  242,  255,  271. 

Quandril,  6,  43,  97,  115. 

Races,  65-68,  165,  221,  222,  249. 
Railways,  27,  62,  286. 

Rain,  121,  134,  130,  137,  222. 


294 


INDEX 


Ramsay,  Allan,  28,  232,  233,  285. 
Ramsay,  Allan,  2d,  233. 

Ratblin  Island,  9,  119. 
Reformation,  127,  171,  228,  23G, 
238  283 

Religion,’ 21,  71,  121,  129, 168,  249, 
256,  262. 

Renaissance,  258. 

Renwix,  Port,  226. 
Republicanism,  237,  258. 
Revolution,  American,  271,  272. 
Rivers,  14,  99,  226. 

Rizzio,  283. 

Roads,  172,  173. 

Rob  Roy,  38,  98,  213. 

Roderick  Dim,  62,  166,  215,  216. 
Roman  Wall,  15,  61. 

Romans,  51-53,  279. 

Rome,  15,  264. 

“Roslyn  Castle,”  163. 

Roslyn  Chapel,  43. 

Rous,  258,  262. 

Ruins,  39-42,  47,  70,  71,  192,  200, 
205. 

Ruskin,  128,  133. 

Russia,  256. 

Russian  fleet,  194. 

Rutgers  College,  58. 

Sabbath,  17,  37. 

St.  Andrews,  80,  244,  247,  280. 

St.  Giles,  268,  284. 

St.  Kentigern,  21. 

St.  Martin,  128. 

St.  Modan,  43. 

St.  Nicholas,  206. 

St.  Winifred,  264. 

Saints,  21. 

Santa  Claus,  206. 

Sassenach,  or  Saxons,  152. 

Saxe,  John  G.,  60. 
Scandinavians,  121, 127,  280. 
Scenery,  55,  103-04,  205,  212. 
SchafE,  Philip,  250,  251,  255. 
Schools,  199. 

Scone,  265,  281. 

Scotch-Irish,  272-74. 

Scotland,  7,  9,  51-54,  257,  280. 
Scots  in  America,  63,  72,  122,  123, 
128,  148,  218,  223,  236,  272. 

Scots  in  England,  241,  248,  252, 
254,  255,  258,  285. 

Scott,  Michael,  38,  41,  42. 

Scott,  Sir  Walter,  18,  28,  41-44, 
4fr49,  96,  219,  246,  286. 

Scrooby,  264. 

Serfs,  170. 

Servants,  262,  263. 

Shakespeare,  45,  89. 

Shaler,  Prof.  N.  S.,  275. 

Sharp,  Archbishop,  286. 

Shaving,  43. 


Sheep,  181,  207,  208. 

Shenstone,  William,  259. 
Shetlands,  204,  210. 

Shields,  172.  See  Targets. 

Shoes,  145,  167. 

Skye,  210. 

Snobs,  143, 144. 

Snowdon,  99,  216,  217. 

Soap,  26,  33, 140. 

Songs,  105, 116-18, 139, 140, 164, 166, 
164,  184,  185,  228,  232. 

Spain,  206,  236,  248,  283. 
Spaniards,  206-08. 

Spearman,  151. 

Speech,  3, 12,  66. 

Spurs,  62. 

Staffa,  123-25. 

Stage,  63. 

Stage-riding,  111,  215. 

Stars  and  Stripes,  14,  163. 
Stirling,  97-107. 

Stone  Haven,  65,  192. 

Strathclyde,  66,  280. 

Strathmore,  97, 100. 

Streets,  31,  32,  199. 

Stuarts,  101,  165,  157,  160,  167,  168, 
271,  282, 285. 

Suffragettes,  250. 

Sullivan,  General  John,  63. 
Sutherland,  210. 

Switzerland,  33. 

Swords,  16,  20,  149-52,  172,  219, 
274. 

Tam  o’  Shanter,  226. 

Targets,  150,  161,  172. 

Tartans,  109,  110,  187,  188,  190. 
Tatnall,  Commodore,  197. 

Tay  River,  68,  77,  279. 

Tea,  154,  261. 

Temperament,  221,  222. 

Teutonic  tribes,  24,  267,  280. 
Thackeray,  143. 

Thistle,  101,  206,  282. 
Ticonderoga,  167. 

Tobacco,  25. 

Togo,  Admiral,  194. 

Towers,  60,  65,  206,  209,  210. 
Trawlers,  194, 195. 

Trees,  93. 

Tron,  84. 

Trossachs,  214-16. 

Tulchan  Bishops,  242,  243. 
Turner,  217. 

Tweed  River,  4-43,  54. 

Ulster,  271,  272-74. 

Ultima  Thule,  205. 

Union  Jack,  284. 

Union  of  England  and  Scotland, 
100,  282,  284,  285. 

United  States,  196,  276-77. 


INDEX 


295 


United  States  of  the  World,  62, 
227. 

Unsti  206. 

Vassar  College,  276. 

Venezuela,  260,  266. 

Vengeance,  166, 167. 

Victoria,  Queen,  70,  83,  286. 
Vikings,  121. 

Wade,  General,  172-76,  285. 

Wallace,  William,  15,  77,  281. 
Ward  Chapel,  80. 

Wardens.  68. 

War  of  1914,  140,  165,  190,  194,  195, 
202,  265,  266,  268,  269. 
Washerwomen,  145. 

Waterfalls,  138. 

Water-power,  213,  216. 

Watt,  James,  131. 

Waves,  7,  192,  203. 


Weather,  132,  135-37,  203. 
Western  Islands,  120. 

Whales,  205. 

Whiskey,  140, 181. 

White,  Andrew  D.,  73. 

White  Cockade,  156. 

Whittier,  243. 

Wigtown,  285. 

William  III, .110-16  ,  122,  132,  285. 
William  of  lieloraine,  38,  40. 
William  of  Or.ange,  237,  238,  241. 
William  the  Lion,  146,  281. 
Wishart,  George,  78,  79. 
Witchcraft,  226,  282. 

Wolfe,  160. 

Women  and  John  Knox,  250- 
54. 

Wordsworth,  1. 

Wynds,  30. 

Yew  Isle,  213. 

Yew  trees,  213. 


(2Cbe  diUccjffiDe 

CAMBRIDGE  .  MASSACHUSETTS 

U  .  S  .  A 


1 


DUKE  UNIVERSITY 
LIBRARY 


DURHAM,  NORTH  CAROLINA 
27706 


